An Unexpected Visitor
by thehereandnow
Summary: Rachel, now living in NYC, takes Quinn in when her home life takes a turn for the worse. Quinn prompts Rachel to be honest about who she really is and Quinn makes an announcement that will change both the girls lives forever.  *Faberry and some Klaine*
1. Chapter 1

The brown haired girl lay asleep on her simple Ikea sofa. Her head rested on her left arm and her right arm dangled off the sofa, her hand falling near her iPhone on the floor. She was still in her work uniform, khaki pants and a black polo shirt. Her green apron was thrown on the floor near the couch, exactly where she had tossed it when she came home after work.

The girl's cellphone started ringing and she opened one eye groggily as she felt around on the floor for the source of the sound. Finally she found it and rolled over onto her back sighing. She cleared her throat before answering the call, her voice still filled with sleep, "Hello?"

"Rachel?" came a familiar voice, but one that Rachel hadn't heard lately.

"Mercedes?" Rachel sat up and looked across her small living room at the cable box sitting on top of the TV. 11:20 pm. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Well, no. Listen Rachel, we are sending Quinn to stay with you for a while."

"Sending me…you're sending me Quinn? What? What are you talk- Mercedes? Mercedes, what are you talking about?" Rachel was suddenly very awake. She hadn't talked to Quinn in a few months, and wasn't even really sure why she would need to stay with her. She and Quinn had been friends in high school, but to Rachel's dismay they never became best friends. Quinn's high school career had been rough; her freshman year she was the captain of the cheerleading squad, she became a mother in her sophomore year, denied everything and pretended she was fine in her junior year and in her senior year she became rebellious. She dated a 40 year old skateboarding guy, dyed her hair pink, picked up smoking and hung out under the bleachers before finally settling down midway through the year.

"Rachel, slow down and listen." Mercedes said slowly. "She needs to get out of Lima. She needs to get away from her family and she needs someone to take her under their wing. You like projects, and the rest of us decided she would be a great project for you. Blaine and Kurt said they'll pick her up Wednesday, she's riding a train in, and they'll take care of her until you get off work."

"You talked to Blaine and Kurt before me? Why can't she stay with them? They have a two bedroom and I know they don't use both bedrooms. I have one bedroom. I barely have one bedroom. Why does she need to leave Lima? Can't she stay with my dads? They like projects. And who is this 'we' that you keep speaking of?" Rachel spoke quickly, as she stood up and walked to the middle of her living room.

"Yes I talked to them first. Call them, they'll fill you in. I've gotta go. It's late. Call Blaine or Kurt in the morning. I'll talk to you soon!" Mercedes hung up before Rachel could get another word in.

Rachel picked up her green apron, folded it quickly and then sat it on the back of her sofa and sat down in the spot she had been sleeping in not even a half hour earlier. She looked back at the clock, 11:40pm, and ran her fingers through her hair. Kurt and Blaine would surely be asleep, they lived like an old married couple, but Rachel picked up her phone anyway and dialed Kurt's number.

The phone began ringing and Rachel stood up and began to pace around her small apartment. Finally after six rings Rachel hung up and quickly dialed Blaine's number. On the third ring he picked up.

"Hello?" said Blaine, sleepily.

"Blaine. It's Rachel, I jus-"

"Rachel, it is almost midnight." Blaine said, his voice a whisper. Rachel pictured him in her mind, propping himself up on one elbow to take the call, his messy curls made even messier from sleeping. Beside him Kurt would still be asleep, and their dog, Rocko, would be asleep at Kurt's feet.

"I know. I just talked to Mercedes and…"

Blaine cut Rachel off for the second time, "I told her to wait until morning to call you. Hold on a second." Rachel could hear rustling in the background. "I'm going out to the living room so I don't wake Kurt. Or Rocko."

Rachel took this as her cue to talk and actually finish a sentence. She wasn't used to being cut off. "Mercedes said Quinn is coming to stay with me and you and Kurt are the ones that okayed this plan? What is going on Blaine? Why does she want to come to New York City? Why does she want to stay with me?" Rachel continued to pace her apartment, Gershwin, her cat, eyed her from his usual spot atop the refrigerator.

"Her home life is a mess right now, not that it was ever really calm. Her mom made up with her dad and he moved back home. That happened a few months ago. Last month her sister, Frannie, moved in with them too and brought her daughter along. She's getting a divorce. Last week her boyfriend, Aaron, broke up with her. He was seeing someone else. And that is just part of it, she'll talk to you I'm sure. She had been doing great, but now that all of this is going on again she needs out of her house, and I don't think anything will improve unless she gets out of Lima. If you don't want her to stay with you we'll take her in, but I think she'd do better with you."

"Oh."

"Yeah, Mercedes says the whole situation is not very pretty. But listen, can we talk about this more tomorrow?"

"That's fine. I am just kind of surprised by all of this I guess. I'm off tomorrow, so I guess I'll do some shopping and get things ready here and I get off at 2 on Wednesday…"

"Alright Rachel, well good night." Blaine said, hanging up the phone knowing that if he didn't Rachel could keep the conversation going until the early morning hours.

Rachel dropped the phone from her ear and found herself standing in front of the collage photo frame that hung in her living room holding pictures from high school. Most of them were of her with her friends from glee club. Regionals, Sectionals, Nationals, candid photos from the room New Directions called home, and her favorite photo, all of the members of New Directions standing in front of McKinley High. Rachel's arm was around Quinn on one side and Finn, her then boyfriend, on the other. Half of the group had on their cap and gown, the other half were in dress clothes, supporting their friends at graduation. That had been five years ago.

"Oh Gershwin, things could have been so different." Rachel sighed to her cat who was now at her feet as she walked away from the photo and into her bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel rolled over in bed and hit her alarm clock. "Shut. Up." she said through clenched teeth.

"You're the one that set it, why are you telling it to shut up?" said a voice. Rachel screamed and turned toward her bedroom doorway. "Good morning sunshine!"

"What are you doing here? I thought I made you give my key back after that time you let Kurt in to reorganize my closet?" Rachel asked, pulling her legs from under the comforter and swinging them out of her bed.

"Yeah, you did make me give it back. But then you gave me another one because you locked yourself out three days in a row when you were stressing over auditions. Remember?"

"I remember now." Rachel groaned, rubbing her eyes. She looked at Blaine, messy curls, signature pink sunglasses, purple tee, jeans and black converse. "So what are you doing?"

"We are going to get ready for Quinn. I need you to get up and get ready so we can go. I brought you breakfast and I'll feed Gershwin. Up, up, up!" Blaine grabbed Rachel's hands and pulled her out of bed pointed her in the direction of the bathroom.

Nearly four hours later Blaine and Rachel were walking out of Target, each of them carrying more bags than they could carry. "We can't take the subway home, I can't walk four blocks with all of this stuff. Or the bus. We'll be the most hated residents of New York City." Rachel said, looking at all of the bags, and then back to Blaine.

"Ah! Taxi!" Blaine said, doing an awkward penguin run toward a taxi dropping off a woman with a small child. The woman shot Blaine a look and took her child's hand as they walked into Target. The child watched Blaine from over his shoulder. Rachel copied Blaine's penguin run and made her way to the taxi. They tossed their purchases into the trunk and climbed inside.

"53rd and 8th, please." Rachel said, pulling put her phone. 12:40. She had 25 hours and 20 minutes before Quinn would be handed over to her and she figured out what was really happening.

"This is a really awesome thing you are doing for Quinn." Blaine smiled at Rachel.

"Not saying I wouldn't have if I had a choice, but I really didn't have a choice."

"I know. It is just…well, she needed to get ouf of there fast and everyone thinks you are the one she will benefit from the most and she actually agreed to it without problem. I can't believe you didn't know about everything going on back in Lima."

"Well," Rachel began, "between David and I trying to do the long distance relationship thing when he moved to LA and then me working my ass off at fucking Starbucks because I haven't been able to catch a break I haven't exactly had much time to keep in touch with anyone. I haven't even talked to my Dads since Friday, which was what, four days ago?" Rachel was becoming visibly upset. She missed her Dads and she missed all of her friends back home. She missed being in a relationship, even though at 23 years old she hadn't been in one that felt like it was anything near a perfect match.

"If it means anything at all to you I despised David. Kurt did too." Blaine laughed, trying to get Rachel to do the same.

"He was a bit of a dick, wasn't he?" Rachel looked at Blaine and smiled. "Alright, enough of talking about him, let's figure go get ready for Quinn." Rachel said as the cab pulled over. Blaine paid the driver as Rachel began to lift as many bags as she could carry out of the trunk of the car. Blaine followed behind her and took the rest, shutting the trunk on his third attempt.

They made their way into the lobby of Rachel's apartment, Rachel used her foot to hit the "up" button on the elevator. "Guess ballet lessons paid off." she said as the doors slid open. The duo stepped inside and Rachel touched the button for the fifth floor with her foot.

The rickety elevator slowly made it's way up. Rachel swore every time she rode in it that it would be the last time the thing ever worked. Blaine bounced on the balls of his feet until the elevator finally stopped. As soon as the doors slid open Blaine's phone began to ring.

"It's Kurt." Blaine said.

"Why do you have his ringtone set to 'Hit Me Baby One More Time?'" Rachel winked at Blaine as they once again started their awkward penguin run down the hall to Rachel's apartment.

"Long story. Ask Kurt. Hurry and open the door. My hands hurt."

Rachel jiggled the key inside of the lock and finally the latch gave. Blaine dropped the bags by the oven and dug his phone out of the side pocket on his brown messenger bag.

"Hello? Yes. Just got back to her apartment. No, of course I didn't. No. No, I didn't forget. I am headed out now. Yes Kurt. Love you too. Yes, I'll call you. Alright, talk to you in a bit. Love you." Blaine hung up his phone and looked at Rachel. "If Kurt asks I definitely did not forget that Rocko is supposed to be at the veterinarian in a half hour. I hate to run out on you, but I, uh, I gotta go like right now."

Rachel laughed to herself as Blaine turned on his heel and ran out the door. Then she turned around and surveyed her kitchen, now filled with white plastic bags.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I had planned on posting a chapter every other day, but I am having way too much fun writing this so here's chapter three on day three!

**Chapter Three**

Rachel frowned as she placed the one pound package of bacon in her refrigerator, the last of the newly purchased items that needed to be put away. Being Jewish and a vegetarian, she never thought she would have a package of bacon in her fridge. But, Quinn was coming, and Quinn liked bacon so she would have bacon. Rachel shut the stainless steal refrigerator and stared at it. Quinn was coming to live with her. She'd known about this for less than 24 hours, and in less than 24 more hours Quinn would be living with her. Rachel didn't even know for how long. Judging by Blaine's purchases, a new set of towels, an air mattress, sheets, bacon and other sundry items it wasn't going to be just an over nigher.

She didn't even know why this was happening. Sure, her dad moved back in and after he had kicked Quinn out when she announced her pregnancy Rachel couldn't think of him as more than an asshole. And sure, Frannie moved back in with her daughter. And Quinn's boyfriend broke up with her. Rachel didn't see why these events meant that Quinn needed to move 600 miles away.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough Gersh." Rachel said to the tabby cat doing figure eights around her legs. She bent over and picked up the cat and scratched him between the ears as she walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Her phone began to ring and she grabbed it off the coffee table and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rachel! Did you get everything done today?"

"Yeah, I think I'm set. Mercedes, I still don't understand what this is all about. I understand Quinn is in a rough patch, and I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but isn't she used to rough patches by now? Her whole high school career was a rough patch."

"I'm sure she'll fill you in tomorrow… if she is ready." Mercedes answered.

Rachel sighed, "It is just strange, ya know? She's randomly coming to live with me in New York City, I haven't even talked to her in months, and I am the only one who doesn't seem to know the whole story."

"I know Rachel, but you'll know with time. But hey, I have got to go, I am on my way to work. Finn and Puck told me to tell you hello, so 'Hello!' I'll talk to you sometime soon. Bye!"

"Bye Mercedes, let the boys know I said 'Hey!' and have fun at work!" Rachel just barely managed to finishing talking before the other end of the phone went dead.

The next day Rachel stood behind the counter at Starbucks in her khakis, black polo and green apron. She glanced up at the clock. 1:45. Blaine had sent her a text earlier in the day saying they would meet Rachel at Starbucks when she got off. Quinn's train was due to come in at 11, so they were going to have lunch first nearby.

Rachel waited on the next customer in line. Tall green tea frappuccinio blended cream. Easy enough. Rachel handed the young woman her drink and looked back up at the clock. 1:49.

Rachel drummed her fingers on the counter. She had never been more thankful for a slow spell at work, she needed to work her nervous energy off.

She played a game with herself, trying not to look at the clock for as long as she could.

Finally she saw them through the window. Kurt walked through the door first, followed by Quinn and finally Blaine. "Hellooo Rachel!" Kurt sang, stepping up the the counter with Blaine at his heels.

"Hi guys!" Rachel replied, trying to peer overtop of Kurt and Blaine for a better look at Quinn. As if he could read her thoughts Blaine stepped aside so Rachel's view was unobstructed.

Quinn. She hung back by the door, avoiding eye contact. Instead she looked around her as she played with her hands and chewed on her bottom lip. She looked innocent and scared in her black dress covered with a multitude of what looked like tiny dandelions in greens, reds, yellows, and blues. As always she wore ballet flats that perfectly matched her dress. Her short blonde hair was parted on the side and clipped behind her eat with a light yellow clip. Rachel was surprised to see that Quinn's signature cross necklace was missing from her neck.

Rachel lifted her hand up to wave at Quinn, and Blaine pushed it gently back down and shook his head. "Not now." He whispered. "Take her back to your place, we already dropped her things off before lunch."

Rachel nodded, unsure of what she was getting herself into.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: If you are familiar with Central Park you might find a bit of a spoiler in this chapter ;)  
>It is kind of a short chapter, sorry!<p>

**Chapter Four**

"The elevator is really old, and it always seems like it is going to break and cause you to plummet to your untimely death, but so far it hasn't. Obviously. But um, the phone in it doesn't work according to my neighbors so I'll give you the phone number of the maintenance man, Herbie, and you can put it in your phone. Just in case you get stuck, because that does happen sometimes." Rachel rambled as they walked down the hall to her apartment. "And I'll get you a key made. The door sticks sometimes too, it is an old building." Rachel put her shoulder against the door and pushed while twisting the knob back and forth.

Finally the door flung open and she moved out of the way so Quinn could walk in behind her. "That is Gershwin. He just kind of keeps to himself. It is okay if he sits on the fridge. So, this is it!" Rachel held her arms out to her apartment.

"I'm going for a walk." Quinn mumbled, turning on her heel and quickly walking back out of the apartment.

"Quinn! Hey! Hey, wait!" Rachel walked after the girl. She knew Quinn had been to the city only once before and Rachel wasn't going to release her into the wild without a quick run through, especially since everyone made it sound like the girl should be on suicide watch.

Quinn pivoted, her face harsh. "Look Rachel, I came here to get away from the hell that is Lima, Ohio. I didn't come here to be your pet. I am 23 years old and I am not going to stay caged up in your apartment."

Rachel nodded, realizing she had, for the first time in seven years, forgotten to get Quinn a birthday gift. March 23rd, Quinn's birthday, had been three weeks ago. Quinn turned back around and continued walking away from Rachel. "Well, can I go with you then?" Rachel asked, her voice small.

Quinn turned back around, her face softer and more kind. The face Rachel was familiar with. "Yeah, sure, why not." The two girls walked out of the building, Quinn looked up and down the street.

"If we head north we'll hit Central Park. We could go there if you want." Rachel suggested, speaking softly. Quinn nodded

A half hour of walking in silence later the girls found themselves sitting on a bench in The Ramble, a heavily wooded section of Central Park. With her head down, Quinn gripped the front of the bench and kicked her feet back and forth. Rachel watched her, unsure what to say to Quinn.

"Quinn?" The blonde lifted her head and made eye contact with Rachel for the first time. "Can we talk?"

"Didn't they tell you everything?" Quinn asked, a surprised look on her face.

"No. They said you would. They told me your dad moved back in, and they told your boyfriend broke up with you and your sister and her daughter moved in."

"So they made it sound like it was nothing. They made it sound like little Quinn Fabray is a mess and can't handle her life so she had to run away to the big city." Quinn ran her hands over he face, sighed and looked into the woods. "God, what am I even doing?"

"I'd like...I'd like you to tell me what happened. And I don't think you're weak, or a mess. You've dealt with a lot." Rachel smiled at Quinn, happy that she was responding. Rachel wasn't expecting it to be this easy after what had happened back at her apartment and the fact that not a word had come out of Quinn's mouth during the walk to Central Park. "You don't have to tell me of course." Rachel added quickly.

Quinn took a deep breath, and twirled a flower that she had picked from under the bench around in her fingers. "No, I came here to get my problems sorted out, and I can't sort them out if I don't let them out. But I'll warn you that once I start I am not stopping until I am done."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"My dad moved back in with my mom and in January, things had been going really well before then. I had talked to a therapist and worked out my problems from high school. Dad moving back wasn't really a big deal at first, but then after a few days he started making comments about everything. Have either of your dads ever called you a slut? It hurts Rachel, it hurts even if you have no respect for the person calling you those names. And he would go days at a time without even acknowledging my existence. That was good in some ways, because then he wasn't making comments, but it still tore me apart. I may not have any respect for the man, but he is my father and we used to be so close. Then Frannie moved in with Avery because Frannie's husband kicked her out. He apparently has been cheating on her since right after Avery was born, which is a little over three years. Frannie caught him, had divorce papers sent to him at work and moved back home. So, suddenly they are the queens of the castle and can do no wrong because Frannie is upset and Avery is sensitive. Being around Avery so much was hard because the last time I saw Beth she was three. Avery looks like Beth." "Wait. Why haven't you seen Beth in three years?" The last Rachel had heard Shelby and Beth still lived in Lima. Surely someone would have let her know if her biological mother had moved.

"They moved to San Francisco three years ago. Shelby sends me pictures and letters, but it's not the same as seeing her and watching her play and hearing her voice and…I- I don't want to talk about Beth right now." Quinn's voice changed, she was on the verge of a breakdown.

"That's fine, breathe. Take a few deep breaths." Rachel advised, mentally making a note to get in touch with Shelby soon. Rachel knew she would never have the relationship she wanted with her biological mother, but she still wanted to know which side of the country she was on.

After a minute Quinn had calmed herself down enough to continue.

"So, the weekend before last Mom and Dad had taken Frannie and Avery to Sandusky to stay at the the Great Wolf Lodge so I had the weekend to myself to do as I pleased, which I needed. Friday night Aaron stayed over and then Saturday morning I got up and went to Santana and Britt's house. They've started a LGBT group at the high school and they needed some help getting things off the ground."

Rachel's eyes widened, "That is so great! Nobody ever tells me this stuff! How is it going over? Are people accepting it? Do my Dads know?"

"I'll get to that part. So I went back home a little after noon and Aaron's car was still in the driveway, which was weird. Normally he leaves if he wakes up and I am not there but I didn't think much of it and I let myself in my house and walked up to my room and opened the door to find him with some girl. No, not with a girl. He was fucking her and he was doing it on my bed, in my room, in my house." An elderly couple walking by shot Quinn a dirty look out of the corner of their eyes and picked up their pace. Quinn paid no attention. "Thank god Blaine taught me some of his secret Dalton Academy Fight Club moves because I lost all control and I beat the shit out of Aaron. He may have cried when I was finished. The girl ran out of there so quick that I never even got a good look at her face. And for the record, I broke up with him, not the other way around."

Rachel snickered at the thought of Quinn beating up Aaron, a very muscular boy she knew was on the football team in high school. "You have had a rough few months Quinn, I think getting out of Lima will help you out." Rachel said, placing her left hand hand on Quinn's right knee.

"I'm not done." Quinn said, turning to Rachel with a slight grin that took Rachel by surprise. "This is the best part of the story and why I am here now." Rachel stared at Quinn, who had a total attitude change in a ten second time span.

"Okay…"

"Don't interrupt me until I am done." Quinn instructed. "My parents, Frannie and Avery got home Monday morning and I was waiting for them in the foyer. As soon as they walked though the door I put my arms up and said, 'Hello! I would like to announce that I, Lucy Quinn Fabray, am gay!'" Quinn reenacted, arms up and with a singsong voice.

Rachel smiled at the girl, but remained silent.

"Of course my dad had a coniption," Quinn continued, not telling Rachel how bad the 'conniption' had been. "He gave me a half hour to pack my things, put me on the front porch and locked the door behind me. I've been staying with Brittany and Santana ever since. They told me I should have put some more planning into it, but I've been hiding it since I was 14. I dated Finn, Puck, Sam, and Aaron to try to change myself and obviously it didn't get me anywhere. Santana said they were my beards, but I can't get used to that phrase. So after spending the morning with Santana and Britt and helping them, and seeing how happy they are together I realized it was time for me to come out and so I did. San and Britt were actually afraid I would run into my dad somewhere and show him some of my secret Dalton Academy fighting techniques so they called Mercedes who called Kurt and well, here I am."

Rachel smiled, "Well good for you Lucy Quinn Fabray!" She raised her hand and Quinn gave her a high five. Rachel was shocked though. First because Quinn had seemed to return to her old self after letting all of that off of her chest and secondly because she was wondering how could Quinn come out so easily when she, the girl who had gay parents and two gay best friends, and hopefully soon it would be three, couldn't?

"It feels good to finally get that all out. You're the person I've wanted to tell the most."?

"Why me? We haven't even talked in months." Rachel wondered aloud.

"Well, I, uh…" Quinn stammered, her ears turning red. "I knew you would be excited with your uh, Dads being gay and all."

"I am super excited! So, do they know?"

"I don't think so, with all of the signs going up around Lima I am sure they will soon enough. Thanks for letting me live with you for a while, by the way, sorry they kind of sprung me on you like they did. And I am sorry I snapped at you. I am kind of an emotional nutcase right now." Quinn put her hand over Rachel's which was still resting on her left knee. Above the girls two squirrels, who appeared to be morbidly obese thanks to the tourist who fed them anything and everything, jumped from limb to limb in the trees. Rachel and Quinn looked up at the same time, noticing the creatures, and began laughing.

Rachel was hopeful that Quinn wasn't going to be the sullen, emotional roommate she had expected. It was going to be fun, Quinn just needed to get away, to have some fun and to not be belittled in her own home. Maybe though, Quinn was going to help Rachel more than Rachel helped Quinn.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm feeling crazy, so have another chapter!

**Chapter Six**

"Well, there we go!" Rachel stood up and admired her hard work.

"I can sleep on the couch Rachel, really." Quinn frowned looking at the air mattress that took up all of the empty space in Rachel's bedroom. "We don't want to have to fool with this every night and we surely can't leave it up all of the time."

"No, no, it is fine!" Rachel said, trying to figure out a way to climb in her own bed on the other side of the room. "You sure you don't want to sleep in my bed? I don't mind air mattresses." Quinn shook her head and smiled at Rachel with her tongue between her teeth. She bent over and tilted the air mattress up giving Rachel a walkway to her own bed. "Thanks Quinn, now I feel like a dumbs."

Rachel climbed in bed and Quinn shut off the light and did the same. Rachel lay in the dark with her hands folded on her chest. Beside her she could hear Quinn roll over and exhale. A few minutes passed and then Rachel spoke, "Quinn?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Mmmhmm."

Rachel could feel her stomach twisting into a knot. "I'm gay."

"I know." Quinn replied, turning over on her bed once again.

Rachel sat up and peered over the side of her bed at the dark, blanket covered lump that was Quinn Fabray. "You know? What do you mean you know? You are the first person I have ever told!"

"I started suspecting it in our sophomore year, but I knew for sure in our junior year. Don't you feel better now that you have said it out loud? We'll do celebratory toast tomorrow because I am going to sleep. Goodnight Rachel Barbra Berry."

"I do feel better and I didn't even think I felt bad in the first place. Goodnight Lucy Quinn Fabray." Rachel pulled the covers up under her chin, no longer interested in sleep. She thought about what Quinn had said, that she had suspected it their sophomore year and knew their junior year. Rachel thought back to when she began questioning herself and decided it had started in her sophomore year when she had kissed Finn and despite wanting to feel that magical fireworks feeling she felt...nothing. She hadn't felt anything when she kissed Jesse or Puck either. In fact, the only boy to ever make her feel fireworks was Blaine, and only when she had been intoxicated. Rachel realized that by her junior year she was sure it it, sure that she had a crush on a girl she thought was unreachable, the girl that was now less than two feet from her and, from the sounds of it, asleep. Rachel replayed Quinn's reaction in her head and smiled before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning Rachel woke at 6, rubbed her eyes, and stretched her arms before swinging her legs over the side of her bed with her eyes closed. She opened her brown eyes when her feet hit something that wasn't floor and jumped when she saw Quinn still sleeping, curled up under a blanket covered with red, pink and lime green snowflakes. Rachel watched the girl for a second once she remembered that it was Quinn, before she attempted maneuvering around the air mattress and making her way out of the bedroom, grabbing her work uniform out of the dresser on the way, and into the bathroom.

She pulled back the shower curtain and turned on the water, while it warmed she undressed and threw her clothes into the cloth hamper beside the sink. Rachel stuck her hand under the water and deemed it still too cold to shower and then turned to face the mirror over the porcelain sink.

"How many others already know?" Rachel spoke her thoughts to herself as she stared into her own brown eyes. She realized then that she didn't care, she had no reason to. She didn't have to worry about how her friends and family would react because they were all open-minded and would love her no matter who she loved, and she knew this. Besides, Quinn was right, it felt better being honest about who she was. Rachel smiled into the mirror, pulled back the shower curtain and stepped into the hot water.

A half hour later Rachel emerged from the bathroom smelling like lavender and dressed in her work uniform, her hair pulled up and makeup done. She walked into the kitchen, poured some food into Gershwin's bowl on the floor and opened up the junk drawer. She dug around for what she felt was entirely too long before finding a blank sheet of paper and a pen. "Quinn," Rachel wrote at the top of the paper. She quickly realized she had dotted the "I" with a tiny heart and debated scratching it out before deciding to continue and leave it as it was. "I work from 7:30 until 2. I think Kurt and Blaine also work today, but maybe not. You can try to call them. Feel free to make yourself at home, I'll be back around 3, I'm going to go get a key made for you on my way home. Call or text if you need anything!

Rachel

PS Thank you for opening up to me yesterday, and for not making a big deal out of my 'announcement.'

PPS Does everyone know? Was I that bad at hiding my feelings? Maybe you should text me after you read this."

Rachel put the note on the counter where she was sure Quinn would see it and then made herself a quick breakfast with the last bagel from the Carnegie Deli bag Blaine had brought over on the day of their shopping trip. She slung her bag over her shoulder, grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and made her way out of her apartment with a new spring in her step.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Quinn's bed suddenly became very hard, causing her to wake up. She squinted her eyes open and looked around realizing that her bed had shrunk about six inches over night and she was was now basically sleeping on the floor. She rubbed her eyes like a small child and sat up with the intention of pumping the bed back up and going back to sleep. At the bottom of the bed Gershwin was stretching and flexing his claws.

"Hi Gershwin." Quinn said, her voice deeper than normal due to just waking up. She extended her hand to the cat who was not interested at all. "Wait, Gershwin, did you..." Quinn got up on her knees and crawled closer to the cat who promptly ran out of the bedroom. Quinn peeled the sheet off of the bed reveling several small holes in the mattress exactly where Gershwin had been.

"Well shit. I'm telling your mom, Gershwin." Quinn teased the cat, who was already in hiding, as she stood up. She stretched her arms over her head and looked around the room. Rachel's bed was empty and unmade and it looked tempting. Quinn yawned and decided to find Rachel and see if she wanted to get breakfast instead of going back to sleep. She padded out to the kitchen in her pajamas, grey jersey fleece lounge pants and a white tank top that hugged her slim frame.

"Rachel?" Quinn called out once she got to the kitchen, although she knew she would have seen Rachel if she was in the apartment. Turning around, Quinn noticed the note laying on the countertop and picked it up to read it. She smiled at the little heart above the "I" in her name and then went into the bedroom to get her phone.

First she texted Rachel the answer to her questions. "Yes everyone knew, u may b an amazing actress but u kind of suck hiding ur crushes. u had a crush on Sugar our senior year, didn't u? ;) btw ur cat popped my bed." Quinn hit send, remembering how jealous she was of the way Rachel looked at Sugar. She would have killed for Rachel to look at her the same way.

Then she sent a text to Kurt and Blaine asking them if they could do breakfast and informing them that Rachel was officially out. Kurt had said yesterday at lunch that Rachel would be out within hours, if not minutes, after Quinn came out and he wanted to know when it had happened. After hitting send she put her phone on top of the note on the counter and went to shower.

~*~ Rachel felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and went to the bathroom to check the message, which she was hoping was from Quinn. She stepped into a stall and pulled her phone out, smiling when the screen displayed Quinn's name.

After reading the message Rachel wondered if Quinn knew of Rachel's crush on her during their last three years of high school. Rachel had had a crush on Sugar, but it was more puppy love than anything, and if Quinn knew of that crush then surely she knew that Rachel was obsessed, for lack of a better word, with her. Rachel hoped things wouldn't be awkward between them, because she knew Quinn did not feel the same way. And that damn cat, she'd have to dig through the trash for the repair kit when she got home.

"So, I guess I just have to tell my Dads then, right? And feel free to kill the cat (JK!)" Rachel texted back quickly, making her way out of the bathroom stall as she hit the send button.

Quinn came out of the bathroom as she finished buttoning the buttons on her shirtdress. It was one of her favorite dresses, a pale yellow covered with green vines and silvery blue wisteria. She scrunched her blonde locks trying to get the tousled look to stay. A beeping noise came from the kitchen and Quinn followed the noise to her phone. Three messages. The first was from Blaine, "I'm working 2day, maybe we can do dinner soon? Good job w/ rach! ;)" Quinn decided not to reply back right away and went on to the second message, from Kurt. "Told ya! Told ya! Told ya! I wud 3 2 do brkfst, but im working :(" Quinn tapped on the screen to open the third message and felt a knot in her throat instantaneously.

Rachel had to tell her dads and they weren't going to care a bit that she is gay. They wouldn't care if she loved toaster ovens, finishing nails or if she wanted to marry a bottle of super glue. They wouldn't care because they loved her the way way a family should love each other. Quinn wondered if Rachel knew just how lucky she was. A tear ran down Quinn's cheek and her chin began to quiver as she remembered her father's reaction just days before. After Quinn's announcement her sister had scooped up Avery and took her upstairs, taking the steps two at a time, her mother had nearly sprinted into the kitchen and her father had stood before her calling her names she had never heard him speak before.

"Faggot! That is all you are, Quinn. Nothing but a whore and a faggot who has slept her way around McKinley High and gave her daughter to the first stranger that promised to whisk her from your life. That baby is lucky you aren't in her life, Quinn. Children don't need worthless people like you in their lives. I want you to get out. Get out of my house, Quinn. You have a half hour. A half hour and then I don't want to see your queer face again. You are not ruining this family, you little bitch." Russell Fabray had screamed at his youngest daughter and Quinn remembered and played back every word.

Quinn walked to the sofa and sat down on it, her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She began to sob, her whole body shaking, replaying the scene over and over in her head.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the reviews. I really appreciate them! Here's another chapter to bring the weekend to a close, back to work tomorrow so we'll be back to one chapter a day :( Enjoy!

**Chapter Eight**

The sound of pounding roused Quinn from her deep, post-cry slumber on the couch. Her swollen eyes felt like sandpaper when she blinked and she felt like she had been ran over but she trudged into the kitchen anyway. As soon as she stepped foot on the tile floor Rachel came flying in the door that finally gave way after her incessant jiggling of the doorknob.

"That fucking door..." Rachel muttered, pushing the brown hair out of her face. She looked up quickly, noticed Quinn and pulled a key out of her pocket that she then tossed in Quinn's direction. "Here you go... oh Quinn, what's the matter?"

Quinn looked down at the key in her hand and turned it over in her palm. She could feel her voice become shaky before she even started speaking, "Nothing. Nothing now, I was just thinking about how accepting your Dads were going to be when you told them, and how my family was, was less... was less than accepting. Better to get the feelings out, right?" Her chin began to quiver as she tried to smile at the brown haired girl who stood before her.

Rachel crossed the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Quinn. "I'm so sorry Quinn. I'm so, so sorry." Rachel said in a soothing voice. Tears began to fall from Quinn's eyes for the second time that day and she snaked her arms around Rachel's small frame. Rachel pulled back from Quinn, just enough so she could look into her green eyes. "Listen Quinn, you have been through more in the past few years than many people will go through in their entire life. You can cry as much as you want to, if that is what helps you. You are a strong woman and things will get better for you. Do you want to talk about it?" Rachel pulled Quinn tight again and rubbed her back.

Quinn sniffed, and removed her right hand from Rachel's back and used it to wipe her tears. "No, I'll be alright. Thanks Rach. When are you going to tell your Dads?"

"Already did. You were more right than I could imagine, a weight that I didn't know existed was lifted when I told you, so I had to tell them. I also changed my Facebook, so I am pretty sure everyone knows, even though I think everyone already knew."

Quinn pulled away from Rachel, "What was their reaction?"

"They knew. Apparently I turned into a walking rainbow between sophomore and junior year because everyone knew and they said that is when they figured it out. They were ecstatic when I told them though."

"They must be so proud of you." Quinn smiled.

"Well, I think they would be prouder if I didn't work at Starbucks and got the lead in Funny Girl. Or at least a commercial."

"No, I mean you. You as a person, not the job you have."

Rachel nodded, "Yeah. I do think they are proud of me."

That evening Rachel sat on her couch, feet tucked under her body, watching a rerun of F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Quinn sat on the opposite end of the couch eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes and playing Words With Friends on her phone. Both girls were in their pajamas, which Rachel believed was the way you should be if you were home and not going anywhere. Gershwin jumped onto Rachel's lap and without removing her focus from the television she starting scratching the cat between the ears, making him purr.

"This is nice." Quinn stated, sending the word 'rocket' to Santana, finally making her the winner of the game.

"What's nice?" Rachel responded, still scratching Gershwin.

"This. Just sitting here relaxing. Not worrying about anything for just a few minutes. That sounds stupid."

"I am aware that a lot has gone on the less than 48 hours you have been in New York City, but can I tell you something?" Rachel asked not turning her head from the TV.

"Well yeah, of course." Quinn replied, putting her phone down and turning her body so she faced Rachel. She pulled her legs onto the sofa and sat criss-cross apple sauce, and, like she had done in kindergarten, she clasped her hands and put them in her lap.

"You have to promise that it won't make things awkward between us."

"Gotcha." Quinn smiled, taking a guess at what Rachel was going to say.

Rachel bit her lip and smiled, "I've missed you Quinn..."

Quinn, thinking Rachel was done speaking, frowned. "Well, I missed you too Rachel."

"No, let me finish. I've missed you. I tried so hard to get closer to you in high school, but you were always, well, you were always distracted it seemed. And when we graduated, and I moved here and didn't see you or barely talk to you I missed you. But, I wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you that Sugar wasn't the only member of New Directions I had a crush on." Rachel paused, and turned to face Quinn trying to judge the look on her face to see how she was reacting to this news.

"I fel-..."

"I'm not done." Rachel began again, cutting off Quinn who had mistaken Rachel's brief silence as the end of her speech. "I wanted to tell you that I wanted to hold you every time another bomb was dropped in your life. I wanted to help you get back into Beth's life, I wanted to grab you by the shoulders and shake you and make you wake up when you stopped being the Quinn I knew and loved in our senior year. But you loved Finn, and you had a baby with Puck, and you had that fling with Sam, and I didn't know how to go about telling you how I felt. I loved you Quinn. I still love you. I understand that this feeling probably isn't mutual even now, but I needed to get it out. I need you to know."

"Are you done?" Quinn asked, releasing her bottom lip from between her teeth. Rachel nodded with wide eyes. She set her bowl of cereal on the coffee table and Gershwin hopped off of Rachel's lap and put his paws up on the table to sniff the cereal. "The feeling is mutual. And it has been mutual since high school. I missed you too, Rachel. I missed you every day. When you moved to the big city and I never heard from you I figured you were too busy for me to even text. And so I didn't."

"Can I kiss you?" Rachel whispered, unable to make her nervous voice louder. Quinn nodded, suddenly becoming very nervous herself. Rachel crawled to Quinn's end of the couch and locked eyes with Quinn. She brought her gaze down to Quinn's lips, closing her eyes as she brought her face closer until their lips lightly touched. Rachel pulled back, and opened her eyes to find Quinn's eyes still closed. Suddenly Quinn opened her green eyes, still locked on Rachel's, and grinned.

"So that is what a real kiss feels like." Rachel smiled, sitting back on her feet and nodding her head. Quinn's cheeks turned red as she looked away from Rachel. Rachel sat back on her feet. "You alright?"

"I've kissed more people than I should have, Rachel." Quinn spoke slowly. "So I speak from experience when I say that that was amazing. One more though, just to be sure?" Quinn's lips turned upward in a smirk as she lowered herself on the couch. Rachel placed her arms on either side of Quinn and lowered herself down, bringing their lips together for the second time.

Quinn sighed into the kiss, allowing her tongue to come into contact with Rachel's. Her hands moved from Rachel's waist to behind Rachel's head and she played with the few tendrils of hair not caught in her elastic ponytail holder. Rachel let out a low moan and Quinn continued, curling the hair around her finger as she circled Rachel's neck. A few minutes later Rachel pulled away, tugging on Quinn's lip in the process.

"I have also kissed more people than I should have. And I, also speaking from experience on the subject, would like to note that I have never kissed like that before. As much as it pains me to say this, I need to go to bed because I work the early shift tomorrow. Since my cat has destroyed your bed I would like to invite you to sleep in mine." Rachel whispered into the blonde's ear.

Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"No, nothing like that." Rachel stated, wanting to add the word 'tonight' to the end of the sentence, but deciding to hold back.

"Under one condition. Remember how you said you wanted to hold me during my low points in high school?"

"Yeah..."

"Will you hold me even if I am experiencing a high point right now?"

"Come on Quinn, let's go to bed." Rachel backed off of Quinn and stood up. Quinn, now horizontal on the couch, put her hand up for Rachel to take. Rachel grasped it and helped the girl off the couch and lead her into the bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hope everyone is having a super swell Monday!

**Chapter Nine**

Rachel opened her eyes, thanks to the alarm on her iPhone, to a head full of blonde hair in her face. It smelled like the strawberry shampoo she had bought but never used. Reluctantly she slowly peeled herself away from Quinn and tiptoed across the bedroom to stop the noise. After rubbing her eyes and enabling herself to see more clearly she noticed that she had a text message from after she had went to bed and clicked to open it.

"Blaine n I r off tom. Make Q txt me n we will take her to lunch. Figured u wud have 2 wake her up, snce shes not a morning prsn."

Rachel shook her head at Kurt's erratic texting patterns and sat her phone back down. She picked up Quinn's phone and set the alarm for 9am then changed the volume from zero to a ten, the highest option. Grabbing the "From The Desk Of Rachel Berry" notepad off of her dresser she jotted down a quick note.

"Q, Text Kurt or Blaine when you get up, I set your alarm :D They are going to take you to lunch. I get off at 2 so we'll probably get home at the same time. Rachel"

Rachel looked at the note and decided to draw a heart before her own name before sliding it partially under Quinn's phone.

Quinn jumped at the god awful sound that began to blare inside Rachel's small room. She fought the covers off, cursing the noise. With her eyes still closed she felt along the top of Rachel's dresser where she knew her phone was charging. She finally found it and forced her eyes open to turn off the noise.

"That should be unlawful." Quinn told the empty room at the same time she spotted the note Rachel had left. She read it, feeling a surge of excitement when she got the heart at the end. That alone had made up for Rachel setting the alarm.

Quinn shuffled through the living room and picked up the now empty bowl of Frosted Flakes from the night before off the coffee table. She placed the bowl in the dishwasher, trying to take clues from the way the other dishes were placed on how Rachel loaded it. Thinking she had it figured out she slid the top drawer back in and closed the door. Gershwin eyed her from the top of the refrigerator.

"Hello there friend." Quinn spoke to the cat as she pulled a package of bacon from the refrigerator. She was surprised to see it in there since Rachel had always been anti-bacon. "I would like to thank you for popping my bed." The cat meowed and began to lick his paw. Quinn watched for a brief moment before turning on the stove and throwing several slices of bacon into a skillet. She walked back to the bedroom, grabbed her phone and then returned to the kitchen where she hoisted herself up on the counter and dialed Kurt's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kurt. Rachel left me a note and said you are taking me to lunch?"

"That is the plan. I am surprised you are up at this early hour."

"It's 9:30! That isn't early, anything before 8:30 is early."

"Well don't you sound chipper?"

"I slept really well." Quinn flipped the bacon in the skillet with a fork.

"Oh really?"

"We'll discuss that at lunch, where are we going anyway?"

"There is a place called Nine just up the street from you that we go to a lot when Rachel isn't with us. They don't have much to choose from if you're a vegetarian, so she isn't as big of a fan as we are. We figured we would go there...are you cooking bacon?"

"Yessss." Quinn flipped the bacon again in the pan.

"We are going to lunch."

"I like bacon, I only fixed four pieces. I'll have room for lunch."

"Oh god Quinn. We'll be there at noon to get you."

"Aright, bye Kurt."

"See you later."

Quinn ate the bacon, and then put the pan in the dishwasher before going back to the bedroom to find something to wear. She decided to check out Rachel's closet instead of getting something out of her own bag and found a navy dress with white polka dots and a pair of red flats. She took the clothes into the bathroom with her and undressed. She threw her pajamas into the hamper, amused with the fact that she and Rachel were now sharing a hamper.

The trio was seated in the back corner of the restaurant, each with the Pork Brisket lunch special and a glass of water in front of them. Blaine and Kurt also had the Gluttony Cocktail composed of bourbon, thyme, lemon and maple syrup.

"Sure you don't want a cocktail, they are all delicious." Blaine said, holding out his drink to the blonde.

"No, too early in the day and I don't have the best track record with alcohol." Quinn replied, sipping on her ice water.

"Tell us why you slept so well." Kurt said, clasping his hands in front of him.

"Kurt!"

"Blaine it is alright!" Kurt defended himself.

Quinn waved her arms in front of herself, and swallowed her food before she spoke, "Well, last night Rachel and I discovered that we have had a crush on each other since high school and the-"

"We know." Kurt and Blaine said in unison.

"What? Do you guys have us bugged or something?"

"Why else do you think we sent you to live with her?" Blaine asked. "You would have had your own room at our place."

"We played matchmaker!" Kurt exclaimed, clearly excited with himself.

"I'll handle this Kurt. I've known that Rachel was gay since I met her, and like you she doesn't hold her alcohol well. Remember when she got trashed at her party? She told me how she felt about you. And then I told Kurt and we started watching the two of you closer and realized it was actually mutual thing. You were both smitten with each other.. Quite obvious really, we could never figure out why the two of you didn't realize it though. That is why we had to act surprised when you came out."

"You two are like spies. But my question is, why didn't you play matchmaker back then?" Quinn asked.

"Quinn, honey, don't you think you had enough going on in high school? I don't think you needed to worry about coming out in Lima." Kurt dipped a fry into the spiced ketchup and stuck it in his mouth.

"Did everyone notice?"

"Well, uh, once Kurt had his way with things everyone knew. Except Finn. He was infatuated with Rachel and we didn't want him to kick over all the chairs in the choir room. You, Rachel and Finn were the only ones that were truly oblivious to the matter."

"Oh my god." Quinn ran her fingers through her hair. "I feel like a dumb ass. Everyone else noticed BUT me and Rachel? I am not counting Finn because he probably noticed but didn't want to admit it."

"Um, but yeah...how did you sleep last night? You can't deny two gay men the sappy details of a relationship, especially one that could be a Lifetime movie." Kurt asked.

Quinn snorted, "Gershwin popped my bed an-"

"The cat popped your bed after one night? I had to carry that thing around New York City for a cat to use it as a scratching post?" Kurt patted Blaine on the leg to calm him down.

"Sappy details Blaine, focus on the girl!"

"I'll start over from the begining, Rachel and I found out that we were each other's secret admirers, had a brief, but amazing, make out session on the couch and then we both slept in her bed because Gershwin popped my bed." Quinn answered. "And Blaine, I actually thanked Gershwin this morning and gave him a piece of bacon. I haven't slept that well in a long time, she held me all night and I needed that. I now realize that Aaron dated me just for the sex, and I stayed with him just because I needed someone, even if that someone just needed my body."

"I am glad that you are on the road to happiness, Quinn." Blaine said, taking Quinn's hand into his own. "You deserve it. You deserve Rachel, and Rachel deserves you."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Just a heads up, there might not be an update tomorrow, I'm not sure if I will be able to get on the computer. I didn't want anyone to worry!

**Chapter Eleven**

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the elevator. She stretched out her hands that had been clenched the entire ride up to the fifth floor. She walked down the hall, mentally preparing herself for her first solo encounter with the door. She put the key in the lock and turned it, surprising herself when it opened on the first try.

"Huh." She shrugged, entering the apartment that was beginning to look untidy. Quinn looked at the clock, realized there was 45 minutes until Rachel would be home and decided to straighten up. She started in the bedroom, folding up the air mattress that still laid on the floor and putting it in the box it came in that sat at the foot of Rachel's bed. She made the bed, folded clothes and stacked them on the bed, unsure of if they were clean or dirty. She found a saucer and put loose change from the dresser inside of it and then moved to the kitchen where she started the dishwasher and wiped off the counter, stove and sink.

A pounding sound came from the door, "Quinn? Are you home?" Quinn walked to the door and looked out the peephole. Rachel stood on the other side, arms crossed. Quinn turned the knob and let Rachel in.

"I didn't feel like dealing with the door." Rachel took her bag off her shoulder and sat it on the still damp counter. "Did you go to lunch?"

"I got it open on the first try." Quinn jokingly flexed her arms and showed off her biceps.

"Alright Wonder Woman, so did you go to lunch?" Rachel playfully shoved Quinn.

"Yup." Quinn said, assuming 'The Crab' body building pose.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "And the boys wanted details?"

"Yup." Quinn kissed her bicep before moving on to the 'Side Chest Pose'.

"And you told them everything." Rachel asked, pouring herself a glass of water.

"Of course I did." Quinn dropped the body builder pose and stared at Rachel. "Is that not okay?"

"It is just more fun to tease them. I am going to go change my clothes." Rachel started into the bedroom. Quinn stayed in the kitchen, wanting desperately to follow but deciding to stay.

A few moments passed before Quinn heard her name called from the back of the apartment. "Yeah?" She responded, putting the folded dishrag over the faucet.

"Have you seen that sweatshirt that was laying by my dresser?" Rachel hollered back. Quinn walked to the back of the apartment and opened up the bedroom door, not expecting Rachel to be standing before her in nothing but black sweatpants and a bra. Their eyes met and Quinn backed out of the room.

"Sorry! Sorry! I should have knocked!" She could feel her ears getting red, and her face. "I um, I folded-"

"Quinn get in here. It is okay." Quinn walked back into the room, rather embarrassed and avoiding eye contact with Rachel, and over to the bed, pulling the sweatshirt out from under the pile at clothes. She turned around to hand it to Rachel and was surprised to find the brown haired girl standing directly in front of her. "Quinn, it is okay." Rachel cupped Quinn's face between her hands and kissed her gently. Quinn kissed back, her arms now wrapped around Rachel's slightly shorter body.

The girls pulled apart from each other and Rachel slipped the sweatshirt on. "So, what did you do today?" Rachel asked like what had just happened between the two was something that happened daily.

Quinn, still in slight shock over the past few minutes, blinked a few times and looked around the room before responding, "I got up, ate bacon, stole your clothes and got ready, ate lunch, came home, unlocked the door on the first try, cleaned a little and then kissed you."

"Sounds like you had a good day then?"

"Yeah, it was good, especially the last activity. Yours?" Quinn said, the embarrassment and shock slipping away and her spunk coming back.

"I sold pastries and hot drinks and cold drinks and that was about it. Same ole, same ole, but I enjoy it."

"I need a job Rachel."

"Why? I have rent covered, if you need anything just ask."

"No, it isn't money. I worked at Breadstix at home and saved all of my money. I just need something to do. I don't like being alone or not busy, that is when my mind starts to drift back to Lima and I think it is better if it doesn't do that right now."

"Oh, well in that case, I have some connections at the Milk Bar and I know they are looking for someone to do an early shift. You wouldn't be baking, just doing the cash register but I think you would like it. It's only a 15 minute walk from here. You'd be working pretty much the same hours as me. And _that _would be the best part."

"That sounds like it would be fun." Quinn said before being cut off by Rachel's lips on hers.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I managed to get a wifi signal on my lunch break, so here's an update! I have a slight knowledge of the area that Rachel is living in and I am trying to apply that to the story, I hope it is working out okay. Oh, and if you are ever in NYC and can go to the Milkbar, GO! They have the best cookies in the world.

**Chapter Eleven**

Quinn took the paper out of her purse and looked at it, standing in the lobby of Rachel's apartment building.

"Walk to the end of the block (8th Ave). Make a left and walk north until you hit 56th Street. Make a right onto 56th and keep walking straight. The Milk Bar will be on your left halfway between 6th and 5th Aves."

Quinn repeated the directions Rachel had written down aloud to herself, realizing she was making herself look like a crazy person to all of the people coming and going.

Exactly like Rachel had told her, fifteen minutes later Quinn walked up to the counter in the small bakery that smelled oddly of cereal.

"Hello! What can I do for you today?" asked a petite girl with light brown hair held back with a light pink bandana. She wore a white button up shirt and a white apron.

"Hi, I am Quinn Fabray. My uh, friend, Rachel Berry said that you had a part time position that needed filled?"

"Oh, Quinn! Nice to meet you, I'm Alison. I'm the pastry sous chef, but I've been doing the front of the bakery in the mornings until we fill the position so I am very happy to see you." Alison extended her hand out to Quinn who took it. "Rachel said this morning that you would be stopping in, she said a lot of great things about you. Here, have a Compost Cookie." Alison walked behind the glass case and pulled out a cookie and handed it to Quinn.

Quinn raised an eyebrow and inspected the cookie closer. "Compost Cookie?" She took a small bite anyway.

"It has a little of everything in it. Potato chips, coffee grounds, chocolate chips, pretzels, butterscotch chips..."

"That is fantastic." Quinn said, taking another, this time larger, bite.

"Glad you like it, it helps to like the things you sell. Do you have any experience in bakeries?"

Quinn shook her head swallowing another bite of cookie, "No, I worked in a restaurant back home, Breadstix. No affiliation to the Breadstix of New York." Quinn added quickly, knowing the New York version was looked down upon by most other restaurants. "But I used the cash register there, so that won't be anything new."

"Awesome! Why don't you come in tomorrow at seven? We open at 8, so normally your shift wouldn't start until 7:45 but we'll give you a quick run through. Then you'd get off at two and that would be your shift Sunday through Wednesday. Sound okay?"

"Sounds perfect, thank you so much Alison."

"No problem, look forward to seeing you in the morning!" Alison replied, walking behind the glass case again where a man and a young girl stood looking at the cookies and truffles. Quinn walked out through the door she came in and headed back towards home. Her new job would mean early morning hours, but taking a job with evening hours would be less time spent with Rachel and more time spent alone. It would be worth it to get up early.

Quinn ducked into Bagel Stix on her way home to grab a smoothie. She sat down at a small table near the window and took out a phone to take a picture of the name of the business to send to Santana and Brittany. Quinn figured they would get a kick out of the it. She texted Rachel too, while she had her phone out.

"Rach! I got the job, I work at 7 tomorrow, see you when you get home! 3"

She laid her phone down on the formica table. She debated texting her mom, Quinn wasn't even sure if Judy was aware she was in New York. She hadn't talked to her since April 7th, when she was kicked out of her home and it was now two weeks later, April 21st. When Quinn's dad had kicked her out after announcing her pregnancy Judy eventually came around. Judy had kicked Russel out and let Quinn come back, but this was different. She had Frannie and Avery to make over now, she didn't need Quinn anymore. Quinn wondered if anyone in her family wondered if she was okay or where she was. She wondered if Aaron knew what had happened and if he was still with the girl she had caught him with.

Quinn decided she needed to let her mom know and picked her phone up again.

"Mom, it's Quinn. I just wanted to let you know I am currently in NYC, I got a job today. I am okay and I hope everything at home is too. I am sorry if I disappointed you, but I am who I am."

She re-read the message several times to make sure conveyed the message she needed it to. She was safe. She was sorry. She wasn't changing to make people happy who didn't want to see her happy. Finally, after deciding that was as good as it would get she hit send, got up and headed home.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK." Quinn slammed her phone down on the countertop in the kitchen just as Rachel opened the door into the unlocked apartment. Quinn made a fist and slammed it down on the counter beside her phone and screamed. Rachel, still standing in the door frame, mouth open, watched Quinn as she tensed up her whole body and began to shake all over. Finally Quinn noticed Rachel in the doorway and shook her head, "I am a fuck up, Rachel."

Rachel walked into the apartment and shut the door behind her. "What is going on, Quinn?"

Quinn, still shaking and eyes welled with tears slid her phone to Rachel. Rachel grabbed it and first read the message Quinn had sent to her mother. Rachel's stomach knotted before she even read Judy's response.

"You continue to disappoint us over and over again Quinn, and I think your father made it very clear two weeks ago that we do not want you in our lives."

Rachel reached out to Quinn who stayed perfectly still, unable to move. Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn whose body was shaking and tense and heaving with every sob. "Shhhhh." Rachel whispered into her ear as she rubbed her back in large circles. "Shhhh."

"I'm going to be sick." Quinn said, breaking out of Rachel's strong hold. She ran toward the bathroom and Rachel followed, getting to the bathroom as Quinn knelt in front of the toilet. Rachel knelt down beside her and pulled her hair back. Picking up where she left off in the kitchen Rachel continued to rub her back with her free hand and softly whisper "shhhh".

Quinn emptied her stomach before standing up. "I need you to just hold me right now. Please Rachel. Please, just hold me." Quinn pleaded, with a furrowed forehead, runny nose and swollen eyes.

"Of course, of course I will Quinn." The girls tangled their arms around each other once again and swayed back and forth in the narrow bathroom, Rachel continuing her chorus of shushing noises in Quinn's ear. After a few minutes, Quinn's body finally not as tense but was still shaking, Rachel pulled away. "Here, sit down." She instructed, pulling the shower curtain back so Quinn could sit on the edge of the tub. Rachel retrieved a clean wash cloth and wet it with cool water. Gently she wiped off Quinn's face.

"Thank you." Quinn whispered. Rachel pulled Quinn off of the tub's edge and into the bedroom. Silently she dug through the dresser drawers and handed Quinn a pair of pajama pants with pictures of cartoon cats and an oversized McKinley High tee shirt that had once been Finn's.

"Change your clothes and get in bed. I'll be back in a minute." Rachel said, grabbing another set of pajamas for herself out of the dresser and then walking out of the room. Quinn changed her clothes as she was told and then climbed into Rachel's bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

As promised, Rachel returned a few minutes later in pajamas and carrying two cups of tea. She set the tea down and then climbed in bed beside Quinn who promptly rolled onto her side. Rachel, now the big spoon, wrapped her left arm around Quinn and propped herself up on her right elbow.

"Do you want to talk?"

Quinn nodded, and decided to spill to Rachel what her dad had said to her the day he kicked her house. Quinn repeated it, the story of how her dad had kicked her out for a second time, word-for-word to Rachel. "I can't say I like any of my family right now, I actually really want to be able to hate them, but I love them because they are my family. I wish- I wish I could go back to when my dad took me to baseball games. I wish I could be five years old again and wake up in his arms and start over. I want my mom to call me Quinny again. I can't figure out what I did to deserve all of this. My dad said I am worthless. Am I really worthless Rachel? Please, tell me the truth, am I worthless?" Quinn asked through her sobs.

"You are anything but worthless. You are brave, beautiful, smart, funny, an incredible friend and an amazing kisser. I wish your parents would see you for the amazing individual you are, because you truly are an amazing person. You've been through so much, and you're so young, but you keep powering through it, trying to find the bright side in everything. I wish I could take the pain of what you have been through away from you, but I can't Quinn. What I can promise to do is to love you and take care of you until the pain is gone and even longer after that."

"I feel like since I came here all I have done is laid back and let you take care of me."

"And that is why you came here, to be able to let someone else care for you for a little while. And besides, look how much you have helped me, Quinn. Who knows when I would have admitted who I really am if you hadn't came along. Do you want to talk about anything else? Better to get your thoughts out than leave them in."

"Yes." Quinn responded. Rachel waited for Quinn to continue on but when she hadn't after several minutes Rachel sat up and discovered Quinn was asleep. Rachel climbed out of bed and looked at the clock, it was only four. Crossing her fingers she grabbed her laptop and cup of lukewarm tea and went to the living room.

Three text messages and a half hour Rachel was involved in a three way chat with Mercedes, Blaine and Santana.

FunnyGirl1294: Hey guys, Quinn just had a pretty bad breakdown, she sent her mom a text letting her know she was okay and everything and her mom texted her back saying she was a disappointment and basically wanted nothing to do with her. Then she told me the whole story of how her dad kicked her out and basically verbally abused her.

banderson99: Is she okay now?

MercedesJones: Poor Quinn :(

AuntieTana: Even I feel sorry for her.

FunnyGirl1294: She's sleeping now, but before she fell asleep I asked her if she wanted to talk about anything else and she said yes and then fell asleep. Any idea what that would be?

banderson99: She told you about Aaron right?

FunnyGirl1294: Yes, how she found him with another girl...

MercedesJones: And about her niece and sister moving in?

FunnyGirl1294: Yeah.

banderson99: Shelby and Beth moving?

FunnyGirl1294: Yeah, she covered that.

MercedesJones: Any ideas San?

AuntieTana: I am clueless.

MercedesJones: Maybe she was just joking and didn't want to talk about something serious?

FunnyGirl1294: I don't know, I hope so. I am going to get off of here and check on her, let me know if you guys think of anything.

Rachel had just shut the lid on her laptop when her phone rang. She got off the couch and sprinted to the bedroom so it wouldn't wake Quinn.

"Hello?" Rachel said without looking at the screen to see who was calling, she walked out of the bedroom as she talked.

"Rachel, I think I know what is going on."

"Awesome!"

"But I can't tell you."

"What? Why? San, I have to help Quinn and to help her I have to know what is wrong."

"No, I can't tell you. Just promise me that you will never stop being there for her. She needs you, her whole life is more of a mess than you realize."

"Wow that is really deep coming from you Santana." Rachel replied with a slight tone of sarcasm in her voice. "I need to know though so I can fix it."

"You can't fix everything, Berry. You just can not fix everything. Keep doing what you are doing and I am sure it'll come out in the end." Santana said, hanging up without a goodbye.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Rachel gently shook the sleeping girl, "Quinn, you need to get up. You start work today! You've been asleep for twelve hours!" Quinn rolled over to her left side, mumbling incoherent words. Rachel leaned down and kissed Quinn between her eyes. "Come on Quinny Winny!"

Quinn opened one eye. "What time is it?"

"Five. You need to leave here in an hour and a half."

"I can get ready in a half hour." Quinn said rolling on to her back and crossing her arms over her closed eyes.

"You think you'll be okay at work today? Do you want to talk about anything first?"

"No, I will be fine." Quinn answered, sitting up in bed and pushing the covers off. She wrapped her arm around Rachel's neck and pulled her closer. Their lips gently touched, not kissing, just teasing one another. Both girls smiled and looked into the other's eyes, their faces just centimeters apart.

"We have a half hour. And then I must leave for work." Rachel whispered. Quinn flipped her body around and straddled Rachel, gently pushing her down on the bed. Rachel's eyes widened at the sudden showing of Quinn's dominant side. Quinn leaned down, lightly kissing Rachel's neck until she shivered and a small moan escaped from her throat. She shifted her focus to the left side of Rachel's neck while her right hand found the hem of Rachel's black work shirt and began to work it's way up.

"Quinn, " Rachel murmured during the brief moment Quinn's lips were not on hers. "I've gotta go. I don't want to, but I have to. And you have to too." Quinn, acting as though she did not hear, went back to nibbling on Rachel's bottom lip before pushing aside the collar on Rachel's shirt and planting tiny kissed on her collarbone.

Another low moan escaped from Rachel and she composed herself enough to speak, "I've gotta go. I love you and I will see you around three. Today is my long day." Quinn gave Rachel one last peck on the cheek before setting her free.

"I love you Rachel."

"I love you too. Good luck today!" Rachel said as she left the bedroom, trying to comb her hair with her fingers. Quinn laid back down on the pillow, she had fifteen minutes until she had to start getting ready for work and she needed those fifteen minutes to decide what the next step would be.

Quinn literally ran home after work. She loved her first day on the job, the people were great, the job was fun and the free cookies, truffles and other treats were amazing. She was thankful that it kept her mind occupied for a few hours of the day, but now she needed to get home and deal with the bigger issue at hand.

"Rachel?" Quinn called, walking around the apartment. She knew Rachel wouldn't be home but needed to be absolutely sure of it. No Rachel. She had exactly one hour before Rachel would be home.

In the bedroom Quinn pulled her large suitcase from the corner and unzipped it. She began to race around the apartment, tossing things in the suitcase haphazardly. She went through the hamper and retrieved her dirty clothes and put them into the duffle bag beside the suitcase and when she was sure she had everything she folded up the snowflake blanket, laid it across the pile of things in her suitcase, and zipped it up.

Quinn lugged the suitcase and duffle bag to the kitchen and got out her phone, quickly dialing Santana's number.

"Pick up. Pick up. Pick up." Quinn begged into the phone.

Finally on the fifth ring, "Hello Quinn."

"Santana I need you to come pick me up at the train station tomorrow sometime. Probably early in the morning. I don't have a time yet but I will call you when I do. If you can't, send someone, anyone, else. I need to stay at your place for a few days and then I'll be out of your hair." Quinn said all of this while trying to figure out how to get her duffle bag to stay on top of the suitcase. Finally figuring it out, she grabbed her purse and put it on her shoulder.

"No."

"What? Santana I need you. You know what? Never mind I'll call Finn or someone."

"Quinn I've been expecting this call, and I've already told everyone not to pick you up if you called asking them. You think you need to get out of New York to solve your problem, but the truth is you need Rachel more than ever."

"How do you even know what is wrong?"

"Because you didn't hide your evidence very well, Lucy. And no, nobody else knows. Not even Brit."

"Shit. Santana, I've gotta go, Rachel's home early." Quinn hung up her phone and dropped her arm down straight at her side. She could hear Rachel fiddling with the lock on the other side of the door, remove the key, twist the knob and then suddenly there she was.

"Quinn…what are you doing?" Rachel asked, slowly entering the apartment.

"I- I don't know." Quinn looked beside her at the suitcase and duffle bag.

"It looks like you're going somewhere. Where are you going? You're not leaving are you?"

Quinn stood silent in the kitchen. Gershwin rubbed against her leg on his way to welcome Rachel home and she shivered from his touch.

"Is this what you wanted to tell me before you fell asleep last night, that you're leaving?" Rachel's eyes filled with tears as she watched Quinn stare at the floor. "Quinn, are you leaving?" Rachel began to walk toward Quinn as her head came up, her face expressionless.

"I told you I don't know what I am doing." Quinn managed in a voice barely more than a whisper as she turned around and walked away.

A few moments later Rachel heard the bedroom door shut.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Unfortunately this story is almost finished. I am thinking about doing a part two after I write another story that has been brewing in my head. Let me know what you think as the next few chapters are posted. Thanks!

**Chapter Fourteen**

Rachel sat at the bar in the kitchen, playing with her hands and trying to figure out what was going on with Quinn. The poor girl had been through so much, one more straw and her back was surely going to break. Rachel glanced at the clock on the microwave, she hadn't heard from Quinn for forty long minutes. Taking a deep breath she jumped off of the barstool and headed to the bedroom.

"Quinn." Rachel knocked on the lock door. No answer.

"Quinn. Quinn, listen. if we are going to make this work we need to talk about things and be open and honest with each other. We aren't doing either of those things right now. Come out and let's talk."

Suddenly the door open and a red nosed, swollen eyed Quinn stood in front of Rachel. "Rachel this isn't going to work."

"What do you mean? Did I do something."

"No, once again it was a fuck up by Lucy Quinn Fabray. It is always a fuck up by Lucy Quinn Fabray."

"But you didn't do anything to me, I love you."

"I love you too, but isn't what I have done to you, it is what will happen if we stay together. I can't let myself bring you down, Rachel. You have talent and beauty and it is only a matter of time before you get your big break and I can't be the one to prevent that from happening."

"What are you talking about? You are going to become your old self again as soon as you can work through all of this! And you just got a job, Quinn! Alison said you did an awesome job today. You can't leave and quit your job after a day. Can we just talk about this?"

"I'm pregnant." Quinn announced, her voice surprisingly calm.

Rachel's mouth dropped open, "You're pregnant?"

"You're only the second person to know."

"The second?"

"Yes, Santana knows."

"Santana?"

"Quit turning my answers to your questions into questions."

"I'm just a little, uh, overwhelmed I guess. How does Santana know?"

"I bought a test on my way to her and Britt's house the morning I helped them with their LGBT group and when they had to run to the store and get more supplies for their signs so I took it there. She found the box in the trashcan I guess."

"I'm guessing Aaron is the father?"

"What in the fuck, Rachel? I tell you I'm pregnant, then you play 20 questions and you are ask me if the guy I had been with for a year is the father? Do you think I am a slut too? I expected a hug, or at least a congratulations. This is kind of hard, you know."

"Quinn, I don't know what to say."

"Well, I don't know what to do." Quinn walked past Rachel and into the living room. She spun around and threw her hands up in the air, "Here I am. Again. Where in the hell do I go from this point? Where do I go? I can't go back to Lima forever. I can't stay here forever. What do I do?"

"You can stay here forever."

"I am pregnant. This place is barely big enough for two people, do you remember how I looked like a whale last time? I sure do, I still have the fucking stretch marks." Quinn threw herself down on the sofa and put her face in her hands. "I'm going to do it this time." She lifted her head, "I'm going to do it because I can't go through what I went through after I gave up Beth. I can't do that again. Imagine growing a person for nine months Rachel, imagine feeling her kick and move inside of you. Imagine spending countless hours awake at night because you just can't get comfortable, so instead you trace letters on your belly, messages to her. Imagine that. And now imagine you go through some of the worst pain in your life and suddenly, suddenly you are holding this sweet little person. Now imagine someone coming and taking that from you. You are no longer this little person's mom, no. I am her mother but I will never be her mom. I can't go through that again. That was the turning point in my life, I know that."

"You are the strongest person I know. I've said it before and I will say it until the end of time. You can do this Quinn, you could do anything if you tried. And for the record, no I do not think you are the biggest slut in Lima. Maybe the second biggest though." Quinn's mouth formed a perfect "O" before she began to laugh.

"Shut up." Quinn laughed.

"You are very calm about all of this."

"I've had two weeks to digest the information and tumble it around in my head, along with everything else. It kind of saved me actually, had I not have known when I caught Aaron or got kicked out I don't know what I would have done."

"Aaron doesn't know, does he?"

"No. I need to go home."

"We'll get a crib Quinn, we'll get whatever a baby needs. We'll find you a doctor, a girl I work with just had a baby, I'll ask her where she went. You can't leave and go back to Lima, you need to stay here. I need you to stay here." Rachel wanted to add that they could be their own little family, but decided to leave it out, not wanting to move too quickly.

"No, no, no! I just want to go back for a few days, I want to tell Aaron in person and I want to talk to my parents." A lightbulb had went off inside of Quinn's head and she spoke quickly and with energy.

"Can't you just Skype them? I don't want you to go back and get hurt again." Rachel sat down beside Quinn and wrapped her arm behind her. "I don't want them to make you think you are any less of a person again. Are you going to come back here and stay when you are done in Lima?"

Quinn laid her head on Rachel's shoulder, and moved closer to her. "No, I want to see them, Skype won't cut it this time. Do you want me to come back here? It'll just be for a little while, I promise. I will have to find a place of my own soon."

"We'll worry about finding a bigger apartment when you come back. You're not taking the train again are you?"

"Hell no." Quinn laughed. "I thought a 14 hour train ride would be easy, and I would save money. No, not doing that again."

Rachel grinned and placed her hand gently on Quinn's abdomen. She left it there for a few moments before raising her gaze to meet Quinn's. "We can do this Quinn."

"We'll be like a family." Quinn's eyes began to well up with tears, but for the first time since she came to the city they weren't tears of hurt or sadness, they were tears of happiness.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen **

Rachel, Quinn, Blaine and Kurt walked through the airport, nearly empty on the Saturday morning. The two girls held hands while the boys walked on either side and carried Quinn's suitcase and carry on bag. Quinn was going back to Lima for four days, when she booked her ticket two and a half weeks ago four days didn't seem like a large amount of time, but the further she walked into the airport holding Rachel's hand the longer it seemed. She squeezed Rachel's hand a bit harder prompting Rachel to turn her head.

"You alright?" Rachel asked, running her thumb along the side of Quinn's hand. The group stopped as they approached security, the place where Quinn had to continue on by herself.

"I'm fine. Suddenly four days seems like a long time to not be with you." Quinn responded, causing a chorus of "awwws" from the boys.

"You'll be fine 'll be sleeping in my bed!" Rachel's dads were out of town for a long weekend in New Orleans and they were allowing Quinn to stay their house and use their car.

"I know, I'm still going to miss you." Quinn said pulling Rachel into her arms.

The girls remained entangled in each other until Kurt cleared his throat and spoke,"Fabray, you have a plane to catch." Quinn pulled away from Rachel and drew both of the boys in for a group hug.

"I'll miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too." The boys replied in unison. Quinn kissed each boy on the cheek and turned back to Rachel.

"You've got this. I will miss you and I probably won't sleep since my bed will be empty but I am glad you are doing this for yourself." Rachel pulled Quinn back into her arms and spoke softly in her ear, "I love you so much Lucy Quinn Fabray and I want you to know I am proud of you for standing up to these people who have brought you down. I also want you to know that I am whispering these things to you because it drives Kurt and Blaine mad." Rachel turned her head to look at Kurt and Blaine who both stood tapping their foot with their arms crossed. Quinn lifted her head with a sheepish grin plastered on her face to further tease the boys before kissing Rachel's lips hard enough to last her for the next few.

Rachel clapped her hands, "Alright! So, you have the key to my dad's house and Finn is picking you up at the airport so I think you are good to go!"

Quinn nodded her head and took her carry on bag from Kurt and the handle of her suitcase from Blaine. "Bye guys. I'll see you on Tuesday!" Quinn turned and walked away and into the security section of the airport.

Once she was out of earshot Blaine turned to Kurt and Rachel, "Alright guys, we don't have a lot of time. Let's go!" The trio stood still for a moment before running back the direction in which they came.

Once seated on the plane Quinn got her laptop out of her bag and opened up the iCal application. She scrolled through the months until she came to October. She maneuvered the cursor until it was on the 10th and double clicked, enabling her to enter an event for the date. She thought for a moment before typing a simple smiley face emoticon and clicking done. Quinn smiled at the screen, at the date her doctor said she would be due. She was going to make it work this time around. She had an amazing girlfriend, two best friends in NYC and an amazing support group back in Lima. She wanted her family to be there for her, but she didn't need them if they couldn't accept her for who she was and she didn't need Aaron at all. She had everything she ever wanted in a tiny apartment just south of Central Park in one of the most amazing cities on the planet.

"Quinn! Over here!" Finn waved to Quinn as she walked into the crowd of people waiting near the baggage claim.

"Finn!" Quinn raced to the boy and he scooped her up in his arms. The pair had had an awkward relationship in high school but had become closer in the years following. Finn had watched over Quinn, almost like a big brother.

"I hear congrats are in order all around, a new city, a new job, a new girlfriend and a new baby? You've been busy." Finn took Quinn's carry on bag and grabbed her suitcase from the baggage carousel.

"I have been busy, but I've been happier and after I get a few things out of the way in Lima I am going to be amazing. But how about you? How is Justine? She's due soon, right?"

Finn nodded his head, "Two more weeks! We've been great, I am still working for Burt and business has been booming. We just bought a house, actually. Life has been good."

"I'm glad to hear it Finn, sounds like we are all turning things around finally. Did you get Mr. Schue's address for me?"

"It's in the truck. Why did you want it anyway?"

"Ah, no reason. I just wanted to stop by and see him while I am in town."

"Are you sure you don't want to come to my house and get lunch or something?" Finn asked as he pulled his beat up truck in front of Leroy and Hiram's home.

"No, thank you for the offer but I have a lot I need to do while I am here."

"Well, if you're sure. Can you get your things okay?"

"Yeah, I've got it." Quinn said pulling her suitcase from behind her seat. She patted her pocket where Mr. Schue's address was written in Finn's tiny print on the back of a receipt. "Thank you for picking me up Finn. Hopefully I see you before I leave."

"No problem Quinn, if you need anything you have my number. I'll see ya."

Quinn turned around and pulled her suitcase up the walkway to the Berry house. She pulled the key to the door out of a pocket on her bag and opened the door. She waved to Finn from the entrance way and he waved back and continued down the street. Quinn turned around and looked at the house, pictures of Rachel, from infancy to present, still adorned every wall she could see. She didn't have time to look at the right now though, she needed to get started. No time to look at Rachel's adorable baby pictures, no time to take the nap she wanted, no time to even put her things in Rachel's room. She shut the door and went to the kitchen where Hiram had told Rachel he left his car key for Quinn. She found the key easily and grabbed the address Finn had given her from her pocket as she made her way back out of the house, locking the front door behind her.

Quinn climbed into the light blue Prius that sat outside of the garage and backed out of the driveway. Looking down at the dash she noticed a wallet sized picture of a laughing Leroy and Rachel had been taped to the instrument panel, covering up the RPM gauge. Quinn smiled, the father and daughter looked happy, and not a forced the-camera-is-out-so-smile happy. The photographer had obviously caught them while they were laughing at something.

Quinn continued down the quiet Lima streets until she came to the house that matched the address Finn had given her. She parked her car along the curb in front of the bungalow with brown siding, got out of the car, used the key fob to lock the doors and walked up to the house.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Quinn rapped on the door three times with the brass door knocker and stepped back from the door. She smoothed down her white cotton dress and pulled the yellow cardigan she had borrowed from Rachel a little tighter around her body. She was turned facing the street when the door opened.

"Quinn! Hey, hi, what are you doing here? Will isn't here, he took the glee kids to Illinois to watch a competition." The woman spoke quickly. She was dressed in sweat pants and a tee shirt, her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a way Quinn had never seen her before.

"I actually didn't want to talk to Mr. Schue, I wanted to know if I could talk to you. Just for a few minutes."

"Sure, come on in. I just laid the baby down for a nap and was cleaning up the kitchen." Mrs. Schuester moved from the doorway to let Quinn enter the house.

"Baby? Congratulations Mrs. Schuester, there seems to be babies everywhere. I didn't realize it had been so long since I had talked to you or Mr. Schue." Quinn stepped through the door and into a spotless home.

"Call me Emma , Quinn. And yes, Evan. He's four months today." Emma smiled and pointed out a picture on the wall of a small baby with just a touch of red hair lying on his belly, naked, on a white backdrop.

"He's adorable! Congratulations again and be sure to pass that along to Mr. Schue." Quinn smiled and Emma led her into the kitchen in the rear of the home. Emma sat down at the kitchen table and Quinn took the chair opposite her.

"So, Quinn, what can I do for you?" Emma asked, fixing the table runner and adjusting the salt and pepper shakers.

"I know you aren't a psychologist or psychiatrist, you've told us all that enough over the years, but you are a great guidance counselor and what I need now is some guidance."

"Okay." Emma folded her hands in front of herself and crossed her legs at the ankle. Her lips turned slightly upward and her big brown eyes stared into Quinn's.

Quinn began her story at the very beginning, when her dad moved back in with her and her mom and ended where she told Rachel that she was pregnant. Emma stayed silent, nodding her head but not speaking. "So, I came back here, to Lima, to tell Aaron of my pregnancy and to tell my parents of the past few weeks and give them one more chance to get back in my life. My question is, am I stupid for that? Not Aaron, I don't want him back in my life but this is his child so he needs to know and I need to tell him face to face. But my parents, am I stupid for offering them one more chance or should I leave things as they are?"

"Well, I have to ask you a question first, what do you want their response to be when you tell them you are expecting and you are planning on staying in New York? This is tricky, Quinn, I don't have a pamphlet."

"I didn't think about that." Quinn replied, looking out the window at the back yard and allowing herself to pause a moment before answering. "I want them back in my life. They are my parents and I want them to love me for who I am and to be in their grandchild's life."

"And what if that isn't their response? What if they slam the door in your face? Is that going to set you back? It sounds like you have come a long way from where you were, is having them reject you again going to set back your progress? And if it is, is it worth it?"

"I need to give them one more chance, I can't not do that. But I think that if I do give them one more chance and they toss me out again I will be okay with that because I will have done everything I can do. I think I can accept the fact that there is a chance they will reject me, so no I don't think it'll set me back any."

"But will it upset you?"

"Yes. I'll be heartbroken all over again."

"And do you think that is okay right now?"

"Once I go back to New York and I can be with Rachel again it will be fine. I have Rachel, Kurt and Blaine in New York and Finn, Mercedes, Brittany, Santana and my other friends back here that support me, I don't need anyone else right now. If I have a larger support group then that is great, but I don't need anyone else."

"Well Quinn, I think that you answered your own questions." Emma said, placing her hands on top of Quinn's. "I wish you and Rachel the best. You're a great girl Quinn, and Rachel too. I'm glad you've found happiness in each other."

"Thank you so much Emma." Quinn said as she stood up from the table. Emma followed and walked around to Quinn.

"I've been going through therapy, it's a struggle, but I'm finally okay with hugging people." Emma said as she gave Quinn a friendly hug.

Quinn smiled, "Tell Mr. Schue I said hello and congratulations again on Evan. He's gorgeous." As if on cue an infant's cry came from the monitor sitting on the countertop.

"Keep in touch Quinn, and tell Rachel, Kurt and Blaine the same. He misses you all."

"Will do. I'll see you later." Quinn said as Emma made her way up the stairs off of the kitchen. Quinn let herself out the front door, pausing for a moment in front of the picture of baby Evan.

Rachel stopped on the way back to the Berry's for a spaghetti dinner to-go from Breadstix. As she ate she checked her phone for the first time since landing earlier in the afternoon. She had messages from Santana and Mercedes asking her if she wanted to do dinner or just hang out. She responded to both messages with, "I would love to, but I think I need some time to myself right now." Tomorrow she would be going to Aaron's and Monday she would go to her parent's and she didn't want to take her focus off what was coming.

Quinn dialed Rachel's number, because although she didn't want company right now she needed to hear a certain someone's voice.

"Shh! Shhh! Hey Quinn!"

"Rachel, what is going on?" Quinn asked, unsure while Rachel was shushing before greeting her.

"Oh, just Gershwin. He was um, howling. He was howling. He misses you I think." Rachel replied, a certain air of nervousness in her voice.

"I didn't know cats could howl?"

"Well, I don't know if they howl, but it was like a howling, it was like mmmrrrooowwww." Rachel did her version of what a cat howling would sound like into the phone causing the other two people in the room with her to begin laughing.

"Rachel, I hear laughing. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing. So, how was today?"

"Well, the flight was good, Finn remembered to pick me up. I talked to Emma and she said that I needed to do what I felt was right, I guess. And did you know they had a baby?"

"Evan, right? I talked to Mr. Schue a couple of months ago and he told me. I'm glad to hear you had a good flight, I miss you and I love you."

"I miss you and love you too, Rach-"

"Well, bye then!" Rachel said ending the conversation.

Quinn stared down at her phone, the screen showing the call had ended. "What in the fuck is she up to?" she talked aloud to the empty kitchen. She dialed Rachel's number again and listened to the phone ring over and over until her voicemail message came on. Quinn hung up without leaving a message and then decided to send a text message instead.

"what is going on?"

After nearly ten minutes the phone began to vibrate and Quinn tapped the button to check her messages.

"Nothing. I am busy right now. I will call you in the morning."

"What the fuck ever." Quinn sighed, slamming her phone down on the counter. She finished her food, determined not to feel sorry for herself. She cleaned up her mess and then went upstairs and climbed into Rachel's childhood bed, falling asleep almost instantly after a long day


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **I think there will be two more chapters after this one.

**Chapter Seventeen**

It was after noon by the time Quinn woke up on Sunday. She checked her phone immediately after opening her eyes, hoping Rachel had sent her a text during the night. There were no texts but there were twelve missed calls, all from Rachel. Quinn punched Rachel's number into her phone and was relieved when Rachel picked up halfway through the second ring.

"Hey baby, you caught me on my break!"

Quinn smiled at the sound of her voice, even though she wanted to be mad at her for last night. "Hey."

"Did you just get up? You sound like you're still half asleep."

"I did. I let myself sleep in, Aaron never gets up before noon either unless he has to so I am in no big hurry."

"Sorry about last night."

"Yeah, what was that all about?" Quinn asked, sitting up in the bed, running her hand through her messy hair.

"Ah, I really can't tell you that."

"You had better be glad that I love you and I trust you then."

"Thank you for that. You know I would never do anything to hurt you. How did you sleep last night? Either like a rock, or you stayed up half the night and that's why you slept in so late I'm guessing."

"Like a rock."

"So, what is your plan for today? Just visiting Aaron?"

"Yes, I figured I would start small, and you can't get much smaller than Aaron."

On the other end of the line Rachel laughed, "You tell 'em! I've got to get back to work, if you get bored there are tons of my early performances on VHS in the basement. Help yourself to them."

This time Quinn laughed, "Thanks Rach. I love you and I'll talk to you later."

"Love you too." Rachel said as she ended the call.

Quinn put the phone down, wondering what Rachel was up to now. She got up and walked around Rachel's room, looking at pictures on the bulletin board and the books on the shelf. She noticed a three subject notebook wedged between a copy of Little Women and tattered copy of The Giving Tree. She pulled it out and looked at the cover, adorned with gold stars, Rachel's signature. Quinn carried the book back to Rachel's bed and flipped it open to a random page near the front, a page filled with Rachel's loopy scrawl.

"I talked to her today. I walked up to her while she was at her locker and I told her she was going to need Glee and I encouraged her to come back and practice with us. I also said her Cheerios uniform wouldn't fit her much longer and that she sometimes sang sharp and she said she was the one who had been drawing those pictures of me in the bathroom stalls, but I talked to her! I talked to Quinn Fabray! I think we are well on our way to a friendship, I want to help her. I saw her crying in the hall later in the day, but I didn't speak to her. I don't want her to think I am weird or anything. Tomorrow we preform our Halo/Walking On Sunshine Mash Up for the little competition Mr. Schue is doing, the boys did really well but I am not going to let anyone know I think that. Tina, Mercdes, and I all bought yellow dresses for our song, I got one for Quinn too because I didn't think she would go get it for herself. Santana and Brittany said they would get a yellow dress too, I hope they remember! I had to dip into my NYC trip money to get Quinn's dress, but it'll be worth it. I hope she likes it, she'll look really pretty in it. Yellow is definitely her color."

Quinn gently shut the notebook, her cheeks red with embarrassment, and walked back to the bookshelf to return it to it's proper spot on the shelf. She hadn't known Rachel had bought the dress just for her, she thought it was an extra one that she had brought from home and that is why she had wanted it back. It was an amazing dress, they had all looked great for that performance. It was then that Quinn had really fell in love with Glee, even if she didn't show it on the outside. Quinn was surprised that Rachel even still talked to her after how she had treated her in high school. She made a mental note to apologize for that once she got back to New York and could do it properly.

The clock read 2:30 as Quinn pulled into a parking spot outside of Aaron's apartment building. She checked her makeup in the review mirror and got out of the Prius, double checking that it was indeed locked. She walked up to the metal door and knocked, half expecting him to not even answer. To her surprise a few seconds later the door opened, reveling a shirtless Aaron, his blonde hair spiked as always. Quinn looked past him into the messy apartment, and saw a dark haired girl sitting on the couch in a cami and a pair of boxers that Quinn was pretty sure she had bought for Aaron on Valentines Day. Quinn was also pretty sure that the girl sitting on the couch had been a freshman during her and Aaron's senior year.

"Huh, Quinn Fabray. Did you miss me?" Aaron spoke in a bumptious manner as always.

"No, not hardly." Quinn pushed her way in to the apartment. "Hello there." She gave a wave and a fake smile to the girl on the couch who cocked an eyebrow and waved back.

"I hear you're living in New York now with Rachel." Aaron said, closing the door.

"I am. I just need to deliver a quick message and then I will be on my way. I am sorry for interrupting." Quinn said, making sure she sounded as nice as possible knowing full well it would annoy Aaron.

"You're fine, really. We weren't doing anything." The girl on the couch spoke. Quinn suddenly remembered her name, it was Julie.

"Well thank you Julie." Quinn turned to face Aaron, "I would like to congratulate you on becoming a father, Aaron."

"What? Who did you hear that from?" Aaron was shocked and suddenly uncomfortable and Quinn loved it.

"I didn't hear it from anyone. I'm pregnant Aaron, and you're the father. I am due October 10th. And no, I don't want you back. I am happy with Rachel."

"You're happy with Rachel? What are you now, gay?" Aaron laughed at himself.

"Is that all you are worried about? I just told you that you are going to be a father in five months and you want to know who I am dating. To answer your question, yes I am gay. I am dating Rachel."

"What do you want me to do now?" Aaron asked, scratching his face where a goatee was beginning to grow.

"Well, I guess that is up to you Aaron. I would be quite content raising this child by myself in New York City, but if you would like to be a part of his or her life then that is fine too because he or she is your child too."

"You want to raise the child? You're not going to give it away again?"

"No." Quinn shook her head, "I can't do that again, and yes I am fully prepared to take this on by myself, or with Rachel's help."

"Hmm, well that sounds good to me then. Text me a picture when you have it or whatever. And I guess you can send me any papers I need to sign. I don't need a baby."

"Let me make sure I am hearing this right. You don't want to be a part of this child's life. This is your only chance Aaron, I am not going to have you knocking down my door years from now because you have suddenly grown a set of balls and have decided to act like a man."

"You heard me. You can have it." Aaron opened the door for Quinn. "Just, like I said, send me a picture on Facebook or text me or something I guess."

"I can do that. Goodbye Julie. Bye Aaron." Quinn walked out the door and Aaron shut it immediately after she walked out. She could hear Julie shouting something from the other side, she couldn't make out much more than the words 'responsible', 'man', and 'done' but she felt like her job there was finished so she climbed back into the Prius, pumped her fist, turned up the radio and drove back to the Berry's.

Quinn burst through the Berry's front door feeling like she was on cloud nine. She had given Aaron the chance, and he turned it down. She got out her phone and texted Rachel a summary of what had just happened. Quinn felt bad for not wanting Aaron to be in the child's life, but it was his choice. If he didn't want to be there she wouldn't force him, it would just drag her down again. Quinn decided to make herself a bag of the organic popcorn she had saw in the pantry earlier and settle herself in in the basement for an evening of Rachel Berry home videos.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **I am finishing up the final chapter of this story, you can expect it to be posted sometime between tonight and Wednesday evening.

**Chapter Eighteen**

Quinn forced herself out of bed early on Monday, knowing that her parents would only be home until noon if they still kept the same schedule which she had no doubt in her mind that they did. She showered, did her makeup and hair and put on the yellow dress from their Halo/Walking On Sunshine routine that Quinn had found in the back of Rachel's closet. Quinn wasn't surprised that the dress, which had been loose around her middle, was now a perfect fit. This made her smile and take a moment to rest her hands on her belly before she continued getting ready.

She made herself a breakfast of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam followed by a prenatal vitamin and, after giving herself one last look over in the hall mirror, walked out the door. After getting in the car Quinn pulled out her phone and sent a mass text to Blaine, Rachel and Kurt letting them know she was leaving the Berry's and going to her parent's house. Quinn's driving slowed down when she turned onto Dudley Road. The Prius felt out of place amongst the Mercedes, Lexus and Bently filled driveways. Hell, even she felt out of place in this neighborhood anymore. She looked the part, thin, blonde hair, delicate features, but as a person she definitely did not belong here anymore. She came to her house, and pulled in the driveway behind her mother's Lexus. She was happy to see Frannie's car was gone but her mother's and father's were still in the driveway.

She sighed and checked her phone that has buzzed three times between the Berry's and the Fabray's.

"You can do it, baby! Love you!" The first message was from Rachel and it made Quinn smile. She was rather fond of Rachel suddenly calling her 'baby'.

"Just remember, no matter what happens in there you will still have an amazing girlfriend and two amazing guyfriends waiting for you back in the big city." Quinn shook her head at Kurt's suddenly proper texting style. He always seemed to bounce back and forth and Quinn found it amusing.

The third message was from Blaine, "Courage ;)" Quinn laughed, knowing the story behind the one word text. She laid her phone on the passenger seat of the car, and got out. She smoothed her dress down, took a deep breath and made her way up the brick walkway, not bothering to lock the car this time. She stood in front of the door like she had a thousand times before, but this time was different. This could potentially be the last time she stood on this porch. Quinn stood up straighter, put her shoulders back and rang the doorbell.

After a moment Judy answered the door. "Quinn." She nodded at her daughter and then turned her back to Quinn. "Russell! Quinn is here!" She shouted into the house before turning back to her youngest daughter. "Come in."

Judy led Quinn into the sitting room, a room where over eight years ago she had told her parents she was carrying their first grandchild, Beth. The thought threw Quinn's stomach into knots and she sat down in the same seat she had the time before. Russell appeared in the doorway, he looked from Judy to his daughter and then back again to Judy whose face was expressionless.

"Quinn." He acknowledged his daughter as he sat down across from her, Judy following suit. "What are you doing here?" His voice was void of emotion, as was his face.

"Mom. Daddy." Quinn began, looking at each of her parents in turn. "I came back from New York because I need to talk to you. I hope that you will let me speak and that you will listen to what I have to say before you respond." Quinn paused, and when Russell and Judy remained silent she began again. "I- I didn't even know if you knew I was in New York, but I have been since May 18th. Before that I was staying with Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce, I am sure you remember them, they were Cheerios too. I realized in New York that I can be a happy person. I moved in with Rachel and we are dating now. I have a job in a bakery and I love it. I have two best friends, Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson. I am happy now. I am going back to New York tomorrow, and I don't plan on returning to Lima in the near future and maybe not at all. But before I leave I-"

Russell spoke, interrupting Quinn. "What about Aaron? Weren't you in love with him? You always seemed happy."

"I thought I was, Daddy. I know you like Aaron and you like his parents and you wanted him to be 'the one' for me. But he wasn't. I loved him because I thought he loved me and I needed someone to love me and tell me that I matter to them. I realized in New York that what I thought was happiness before wasn't really happiness and when I used to think was love really wasn't love. Rachel holds me when I cry, she holds my hair back when I get sick, she makes me tea and rubs my back and we don't even have to talk to know what the other is feeling. I love her. In fact I found out the day that you kicked me out that I am pregnant with Aaron's baby. I have already told him and he wants nothing to do with the baby, but Rachel has already promised to step up and help me. And Blaine and Kurt too. Aaron wants nothing more than a picture while Rachel wants to support both of us." Quinn kept herself composed as she spoke, her hands subconsciously resting on her recently popped belly. "I just want you to know that I am happy and that I am pregnant and due October 10th. I would love for you to accept me back into your lives, but if you don't want to that is fine. I will always love you because you are my parents and I hope you will love me because I am your daughter, but if you don't that is fine too."

The three Fabrays sat in silence for what seemed to Quinn like an eternity before Russell spoke, "No Quinn. You have caused us so much pain over the years. You tell us you're pregnant and the father is Finn Hudson, turns out it was that Puckerman kid. You give your baby away. You quit the cheerleading squad. You date your way around McKinley, graduate nowhere near the top of your class and then fail to go to college. You start working at Breadstix. You continue to date any boy who will say they love you until you come across Aaron who was probably the best thing that could have happened to you. Then you tell us you are a lesbian, pick up and go to New York. You drop by our house on this Monday morning and want us to take you back in and you tell us you are pregnant. Again. No Quinn, I don't think we can take you back in."

Quinn stood up in front of her parents and began to speak, her voice louder than normal. "I admit, I have screwed up a lot in my 23 years on this earth, and I am sorry. It is nobody's fault but my own. I would like to remind you that Aaron doesn't want anything to do with his child, but Rachel does, and I caught Aaron fucking some girl in your house on my bed the morning you kicked me out. Is he really the greatest thing to have ever happened to me? Just because he comes from a family you think is a nice family doesn't mean shit Daddy. It doesn't mean shit. Rachel would never do anything like that to me. She doesn't love me just for my body like Aaron did, she loves me for who I am and what I am. I'm happy when I am with her and that is why I am leaving tomorrow to go back and be with her. Because I love her." She stopped, realizing her fists were clenched and she was breathing heavily. She looked at her parents who both wore shocked expressions and ran out of the house before they could say another word to her.

She got back into the Prius, but didn't put the key in the ignition. Her emotions were conflicted, pride in herself for standing up for herself, sadness that her parents would only choose to love a daughter than fit into their norms. She remained in the car, trying to steady her breathing. To her surprise tears didn't come and after only a few minutes the sadness left and all she could think about was getting back to New York with Rachel. Quinn put the key in the ignition and backed out of the driveway, pausing at the end to take one last look at the house she had called home. In the upstairs window that used to belong to Quinn, Judy stood watching her daughter pull away.

Quinn's phone rang as she pulled into the Berry's driveway, she answered without even looking to see who was calling.

"Hello?"

"Quinn, I am so sorry."

"Wait, what? Who is this?" Quinn couldn't place the voice.

"Quinny, it's your mom." Quinn recognized the voice now, her mom had been crying.

"Oh, um, okay."

"I am so, so sorry for what your father said to you."

"I know I said I would always love you, and I will. I always will. But why couldn't you stand up for me in front of him? Why did you let him do that to me again? I am not going to come crawling back now. You let him back into our lives again, and I am not going to be the one to pay for it. I can't let him bring me down any more, Mom. I can't let him do it to me again."

"I shouldn't have let him move back in with us. I am so sorry Quinn."

"It's okay. I am happy now. I have ever been as happy as I am when I'm with Rachel. I won't be coming back to Lima to stay, or probably even visit for a while. But, if you can accept Rachel and me being together then maybe we can talk more and maybe you can come visit us in New York. But for right now I don't want to talk to Daddy."

"I understand Quinn, and congratulations on finding happiness. You truly looked happy when you spoke of Rachel, and of course I accept you being with her. How could I not want you, my baby girl, to be happy? Just promise me you'll call me once in a while."

"That I can do. I wish you would have stood up for me in front of Daddy, but I'm not going to hold it against you. I have to go now, but I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

"Love you too Quinny."

Quinn grasped the steering wheel in front of her and laid her head down on it. It had been hard, but it was over and she was ready to get back home.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Mercedes drove Quinn to the airport the next morning and walked her to the security gate as Rachel, Blaine and Kurt had done just days earlier. "Thanks for dropping me off Mercedes. Make sure you tell Sam I said hello!"

"Will do, and you tell everyone back in New York I said hello."

"Will do." Quinn replied, wrapping her arms around Mercedes for a quick hug. She pulled away from Mercedes and smiled before she turned and continued deeper into the airport.

"Wait, Quinn?" Mercedes called after Quinn, but didn't walk to her. Quinn stopped and turned around causing a man in a business suit to bump into her. She mumbled a sorry and gave him a wave before looking at Mercedes. "I just want you to know that I- that we are all happy for you. Come back to visit us Quinn, and bring Rachel and of course your little one." Quinn nodded and walked away.

Quinn shoved her way through the crowd of people exiting the plane and scanned the even larger crowd waiting on the passengers to exit. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for that head of brown hair and those big brown eyes. She heard her name being shouted from the left and turned in that direction until she saw Rachel make her way out of the crowd and both girls sprinted into each others open arms. Smiling too hard to properly kiss, the duo settled for being nose to nose in the middle of the thinning crowd. "I've missed you," Rachel whispered, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Quinn's forehead, "so, so, so much."

"And I you. Let's go home." Quinn took Rachel's hand and lead her to the baggage claim to retrieve her suitcase.

"Rachel, this thing sounds worse." Quinn said as the elevator started to rise.

"It's been getting worse, it's only a matter of time before it- oh shit." The elevator jolted to a sudden stop. "Shit. Shit shit shit." Rachel frantically started pressing buttons, and when nothing worked she kicked the door. Quinn stood in the corner of the elevator, hand over her mouth hiding her grin.

"You're cute when you're mad." Quinn said in a sing song voice. Rachel glared at Quinn and took out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she needed, Mr. Humbertson.

"Hi, Mr. Humberston, this is Rachel Berry from the 5th floor. Hi. Yes, my girlfriend, who is pregnant, and I are currently stuck in the elevator. No, she's not in labor. Yes, uhhuh. A half hour? Okay. Thank you."

"A half hour, huh?" Quinn said raising an eyebrow at Rachel. Rachel smiled back as Quinn walked to Rachel's side of the elevator and wrapped her hands around the smaller girl's waist. Her hands instantly found the hem of Rachel's tee shirt and she allowed them to snake up her back. Their lips met in a slow, sensual kiss that was stopped suddenly when Quinn pulled away. "I've really missed you." She whispered as she slid Rachel's light jacket off of her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Rachel raised her eyebrows at Quinn's bold move.

"Quinn, we're in an elevator." Rachel whispered back as Quinn's hands began to tug Rachel's shirt upward. Rachel stopped her by taking ahold of her hands and looked her in the eye. "We're in an elevator baby. We'll be home soon and then you can do whatever you'd like."

"By my guess we still have 27 minutes left in this thing." Quinn retorted, pulling again at Rachel's shirt. Rachel cupped Quinn's face with her hands and pulled her into into another sensual kiss.

"We can pass our time like this." Rachel suggested, only breaking from Quinn's lips for long enough to speak the sentence.

Quinn pulled away. "I guess this will work, but god damn I have missed you. Four days is a really long time and you've been acting weird and-"

"Quinn, just shut up and focus." Rachel said, pulling Quinn closer as she ran her hands through Quinn's blonde hair.

The elevator lurched nearly twenty minutes later and the girls separated themselves. They each caught a glimpse of each other and laughed at the other's red swollen lips and tousled hair. The doors separated on the fifth floor and Quinn stepped out, pulling her suitcase behind her. "Oh damn, hey I forgot to get the mail. Go on in and I'll catch up in a minute."

"Alright." Quinn replied, continuing down the hall and running her fingers through her hair. Once the doors were closed Rachel hurriedly pressed the button for the seventh floor, praying the elevator would not get stuck again.

Quinn stopped outside of their door and put her key in the door, it slid in effortlessly and the door clicked open revealing a kitchen that was hers, but was filled with boxes and things that did not belong to her or Rachel. "Hello?" she called out, stepping inside tentatively.

"Hey, Quinn Fabray, right?" A man, who appeared to be in his mid 20s, came out from the living room wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He was drying his hair with another towel as he walked. He held his hand out to Quinn once he was close enough.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Quinn." Quinn took the man's hand.

"Spencer." The man replied, tossing the smaller towel onto the counter.

"Hi Spencer. What are you doing in my girlfriend's apartment?"

"Hold on, I am supposed to give you this." Spencer opened the cabinet beside the sink and pulled out an envelope. "I'm curious as to what this is all about too, Quinn Fabray. Care to clue me in?"

Quinn chuckled and took the envelope, "I am just as clueless as you. Here, let's see." Quinn ripped the envelope open and began to read aloud. "Quinners, First give this fine gentleman your key."

"Oh yeah, here's this." Spencer got back into the cabinet and pulled out a key with a heart keychain attached. The two traded keys.

"He'll give you another key in return." Quinn continued. "This new key fits into the door of apartment 7B. Tell the man thank you and come on up. See you in a few! Love, Rachel." Quinn lowered the note and looked at Spencer who appeared amused. "I'm still clueless. I lived in this apartment four days ago."

"I moved in three days ago, I found this apartment the end of April but couldn't move in until now."

"Well, I guess this is where I go find apartment 7B. Thank you Spencer, sorry for intruding."

"Ah, it's no problem. I've been waiting since that crazy brown haired girl, who I am assuming is Rachel, and those two equally crazy boys told me to give the envelope to you. See ya around Quinn Fabray." Quinn said another goodbye to Spencer and then left, Spencer shutting the door behind her. She made her way back down to the elevator, and stepped inside, crossing her fingers that the elevator had been magically repaired forever. From the sounds that it was making it wouldn't be long until it got stuck again and Quinn hoped she was stuck in there with Rachel again when it did.

The doors slid open and Quinn exited, pulling her suitcase behind her. She found 7B and slid the key in the lock and pulled the door open. "Rachel?" she hollered into the apartment, eyes focused on removing the key from the lock. Quinn looked up, Rachel was standing in the middle of the kitchen, hands behind her back.

"What do you think?" Rachel asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet with an excited grin in her face.

"What is this?" Quinn looked around, the kitchen was double the size of the one in the other apartment, and it looked like it had recently been upgraded.

Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn. "I want to show you the rest! Come on!" She kept one arm around Quinn's back as she guided them into the living room, which was also double the size of the old living room and the bathroom which looked to be triple the size. Quinn remained speechless as Rachel showed her the bedroom, now big enough for two dressers and for the bed to not be pushed against the wall.

"How did you do this? What about rent?" Quinn asked, unable to keep her eyes from darting around the room.

"I pulled some strings, rent stayed the same. Never underestimate Rachel Berry." Rachel talked as she guided Quinn into the hallway.

"She didn't even have to sell her body!" a voice came from behind the door directly in front of the girls.

"Shut it, Hummel!" Rachel hollered back playfully.

"This is our biggest secret. And I am afraid I can't take all of the credit for this part. The rest of the plan came into effect as soon as you mentioned needing a bigger apartment and it was all my idea." Rachel smiled her biggest smile, one usually reserved for performances done on stage in front of a crowd. "Open it! Open the door!"

Quinn put her hand on the door knob and began to turn before Rachel interrupted, "No, wait! I want to see your face when you see it! Move back so I can get in the door." Rachel moved in front of Quinn and slipped in the door. "Okay! Now open it!"

Quinn turned the knob again and pushed the door open revealing one of the most beautiful nurseries she had ever seen. The walls were painted a soft yellow, almost identical to the walls in Rachel's childhood bedroom. A white sleigh style crib stood along one wall, a dresser with a changing table top along another. In the corner sat a beautiful rocking chair, beside it a stand with that held a light with a lampshade that matched the sage green, yellow and chocolate polka dot bedding in the crib. Quinn stood in the doorway, unable to move or speak. Rachel stood beside her and Kurt and Blaine stood beside the crib.

"Surprise?" Blaine said hesitantly. One word is all it took for Quinn to break down into Rachel's arms. After a few minutes, Quinn still buried in Rachel's shoulder, Kurt caught Rachel's eye and motioned they were leaving and Rachel nodded.

"I should have asked you first. I should have made sure you wanted to live with me. You can find your own apartment if you want, you can take these things with you."

"No, no never." Quinn wiped the tears from her eyes. "Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before, Rachel. I don't want to live anywhere but with you. Look at this, this apartment is huge. This nursery is amazing." Quinn walked over to one of the drawers on the dresser and opened it, surprised to find it full of teeny tiny clothes. She looked at Rachel, waiting for an explanation.

"Kurt redecorated a nursery and turned it into a 'big kid room.' The lady was going to just toss all of this stuff, and Kurt snatched it up. There are some more things at Kurt and Blaine's apartment, we ran out of time. I think there is a stroller, and a baby swing and I don't know what else."

Quinn shook her head and pulled out a mint green and white striped one piece outfit, she draped it across her belly and smiled. "We're going to be a family, Rachel. We are going to do it and it is going to be the best thing we have ever done." Rachel smiled at the blonde and watched her pick up several more outfits and a tiny pair of shoes. "I don't know how I will ever repay you, or Blaine or Kurt for this. This is amazing, this is all so amazing." Quinn stood in the middle of the room and spun around, taking in every last detail.

"Well, I don't know how you'll repay Blaine and Kurt, but if we could continue what we had going on in the elevator that would be repayment enough for me."

Quinn walked out the door of the nursery, taking Rachel's hand as she went, and led her into their bedroom, closing the door behind them.

**AN: I have really enjoyed writing this story, it's the first thing I've wrote in a long time so I hope it wasn't too painful to read. I want to thank everyone who has left reviews and everyone who has added this story and me to your alerts. I already have an idea for a story I want to start, so look for that sometime this week maybe. I was thinking about doing a sequel, or maybe just an epilogue for this story, let me know what you think. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**TheHereAndNow**


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